A plaque has been unveiled in Lancashire to commemorate a woman who saved the lives of more than a million birds who were set to be slaughtered for fashion.
Emily Williamson’s green commemorative plaque was unveiled in her birthplace, Lancaster, earlier this month.
The plaque was unveiled on Sunday April 16, the day before Emily’s birthday.
Her action was critical in saving thousands of bird species around the world from being hunted to extinction, as their feathers were used for hats.
Between 1870 and 1920, bird skins were imported to Britain by the tonne for the plumage trade. At its Edwardian peak, the trade was estimated to be worth arounds £20 million a year, which is around £200 million in today’s money.
Emily Williamson called out the insatiable slaughter of birds for millinery and she pushed back against the relentless tide of fashion.
Together with Eliza Phillips and Etta Lemon, they grew the fledgling Society for the Protection of Birds, later to become the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB).
There has been a movement in Lancaster recently to address the lack of plaques to notable women in the city and this plaque, paid for by the people of Lancaster through a crowdfunding scheme, will be unveiled by zoologist and bird scientist Prof Melissa Bateson, Emily’s great, great niece.
Beccy Speight, chief executive of the RSPB, said: “I am delighted that we will be able to honour Emily Williamson’s legacy in this way and that we are able to take a moment to reflect on the history of our incredible organisation and the inspirational women who started it all.
“We are all thrilled that the people of Lancaster are choosing to honour Emily in this way.
“I hope that as well as honouring Emily, this plaque inspires a new generation, willing to protect nature and renew our natural world.
“Just one voice can make a difference.”
Dr Melissa Bateson, Emily Williamson’s great, great niece, said, “It was an extraordinary coincidence for me to discover that I am the great, great niece of the woman who founded the RSPB, as I have loved birds since I was a small child.
“As a woman involved in the scientific study of birds, I feel a very strong connection with Emily and am hugely proud of what she managed to achieve and the legacy she has left.”
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