Isabella Carrie facts for kids

Isabella Scrimgeour Carrie (born May 3, 1878 – died November 29, 1981) was a Scottish schoolteacher. She was also a secret supporter of the suffragettes. Suffragettes were women who fought for the right to vote. Isabella became involved after a surprising event at a political meeting.

Isabella Carrie: A Secret Suffragette

Early Life and Becoming a Teacher

Isabella was born in Arbroath, Scotland, in 1878. Her parents were Richard and Ann Carrie. She went to school in her hometown. When she was just fourteen, Isabella started working as a pupil-teacher. This meant she learned how to teach while also helping in the classroom. She did this for four years.

Later, Isabella moved to Edinburgh. There, she attended the Church of Scotland Training College. After her training, she taught in Fife and Arbroath. However, her health was not always good. In 1908, she was teaching in Dundee. This was when the suffragettes were starting to get a lot of attention.

How Isabella Joined the Suffragettes

Isabella became linked to the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) in an unexpected way. The WSPU was a group that campaigned for women's voting rights. Isabella went to a meeting to hear Winston Churchill speak. At that time, Churchill was against women having the right to vote.

Isabella stood up to ask him a question about this topic. Before she could finish, security guards threw her out of the hall. They thought she was one of the suffragettes who often interrupted Churchill's speeches. Even members of the WSPU thought her question was part of their plan.

The WSPU was a group that used strong protests to get attention. They asked Isabella to join them. She felt she couldn't openly join because she was a primary school teacher. However, she famously said, "I did not come to the meeting as a suffragette, but I am now."

Isabella's Secret Support

Isabella became a secret supporter of the suffragette movement. Being a teacher, she had to be careful. In 1912, she started taking a big risk. She began to look after WSPU members who were traveling in her area. She also kept a small library for the organization.

Isabella was a respected middle-class woman. This meant her house in Baldovan Terrace, Dundee, was not an obvious place for the police to suspect. She had moved there after her father passed away. The authorities considered the WSPU members to be criminals.

Isabella promised to keep her visitors' identities a secret. She kept her word, even after the First and Second World Wars. She never revealed who led the WSPU in Dundee. Often, she would leave her house open with food ready. But she would not meet the WSPU visitors herself.

It is known that she once expected to host Emmeline Pankhurst in 1914. Pankhurst was a very important leader of the suffragettes. However, Pankhurst was arrested in Glasgow before she reached Isabella's house. Isabella later said she was somewhat relieved. This was because hosting Pankhurst, who was highly wanted by the police, would have been very risky. Still, she would have liked to meet her.

Later Life and Legacy

Isabella did not have good health throughout her life. In 1938, she retired from teaching. She decided to use her savings for a trip around the world. She felt that she might not have much time left. Isabella only made it as far as New York before World War II began.

She did not fully share her suffragette past until 1976. She was still worried that she might face legal trouble, even after so many years.

Isabella Carrie lived to be over 100 years old. She passed away in a nursing home on November 29, 1981, in Broughty Ferry. Her story shows how some people supported important causes in quiet, brave ways.