ETHEL MOORHEAD – ‘SCOTTISH LEADER OF THE SUFFRAGETTES’
One of the most infamous suffragettes in Scotland, Ethel Moorhead, appears in the records of the National Records of Scotland (NRS) under several aliases: Edith Johnson, Mary Humphreys or Margaret Morrison. Moorhead repeatedly made the papers through outrageous militant acts. This led to her being dubbed the ‘Scottish leader of the suffragettes’, despite no such position existing.
Convicted a total of five times, Moorhead’s antics allowed ample opportunities to advertise women’s suffrage as her arrest, prosecution, release and re-arrest were followed by the press.
• 7 September 1912 – As Edith Johnston, Moorhead smashes the display case holding the William Wallace sword in Stirling. Convicted of malicious mischief.
• 2 November 1912 – As Ethel Moorhead, she attempts to whip a
