Record

CodeDS/UK/3823
NameAshby; Dame; Margery Corbett (19 April 1882-15 May 1981); DBE; British suffragist, Liberal politician, feminist and internationalist
Variations of NameMargery Irene Corbett Ashby
Dates19 April 1882-15 May 1981
GenderFemale (cisgender)
Place of Birth/OriginDanehill, East Sussex, England (born)
RelationshipsDaughter of Charles Corbett (barrister, Liberal MP for East Grinstead) and Marie Corbett (Liberal feminist and Uckfield local councillor)
Spouse of Brian Ashby (lawyer)
Mother of Michael Ashby (neurologist, who gave evidence as expert witness at 1957 trial of John Bodkin Adams)
BiographyDame Margery Corbett Ashby DBE was a British suffragist, Liberal politician, feminist and internationalist.

With her sister Cicely and friends, she founded the Younger Suffragists in 1901. After deciding against teaching, she was appointed Secretary of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies in 1907. She served as President of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance from 1923 to 1946.

Ashby was one of the seventeen women candidates to contest a parliamentary election at the first opportunity in the General Election of 1918. She stood for Birmingham Ladywood against Neville Chamberlain the Unionist Coalition candidate. Her slogan was 'A soldier's wife for Ladywood'. Although she came third behind Chamberlain and the Labour candidate J.W.Kneeshaw, she forced Chamberlain to address women's issues during his campaign, one of the few candidates who tried.

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