Emily Hobhouse: life of the week

Summary

History Extra Podcast: "Emily Hobhouse: Life of the Week" Summary

Release Date: March 11, 2025
Host: Elsa B. Britz
Produced by: Immediate Media

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Introduction

In the episode titled "Emily Hobhouse: Life of the Week," host Elsa B. Britz delves deep into the life and legacy of Emily Hobhouse, a remarkable British pacifist, humanitarian, and whistleblower. Through insightful discussions and interviews, the podcast uncovers how Hobhouse defied the British establishment to expose the atrocities of the British concentration camps during the Second Anglo-Boer War, ultimately saving thousands of Boer women and children.

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Early Life and Upbringing

Elsa B. Britz opens the conversation by exploring Hobhouse's humble beginnings:

"Emily was born on April 9, 1860, in the rectory of Saint Ives, near Liscard in Cornwall. Her parents, Caroline Trelawney and Reginald Hobhouse, were from a gentry background." [04:31]

Despite a seemingly happy childhood, Hobhouse's dissatisfaction with her education at home ignited her early passion for learning and equality:

"I envy the boys, and I don't have anyone to cut my mental teeth upon." [04:51]

Her self-education and multilingual abilities, fostered by a book-filled household, laid the foundation for her future activism.

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Involvement in the Second Anglo-Boer War

Hobhouse's entry into humanitarian work was swift following the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War. Three weeks into the war, she joined the South African Conciliation Committee, quickly ascending to the position of secretary of the women's branch:

"They organized a wonderful meeting in the Queen's Hall with 3,000 women attending, adopting resolutions against the war." [07:08]

Her dissatisfaction with merely organizing led her to establish the South African Women and Children's Distress Fund, fueled by her moral drive to directly address the suffering:

"The constantly renewed picture of women and children, homeless, desperate and distressed, formed and fixed itself into my mind and never once left me." [07:08]

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Documenting the British Concentration Camps

Upon arriving in South Africa, Hobhouse was initially unaware of the existence of British concentration camps due to censorship and martial law. Her first-hand exposure drastically shifted her mission:

"When Erin arrived at the first camp in Bloemfontein, she was absolutely shocked... It was exactly like faded flowers. To keep these camps going is murder to the children." [12:12]

Hobhouse meticulously documented the appalling conditions, highlighting rampant disease, inadequate rations, and harsh punishments:

"Measles, typhoid, dysentery led to far more deaths of women and children than all wartime casualties combined." [12:12]

Her detailed 40-page eyewitness report, which included both qualitative and quantitative data, was pivotal in bringing these issues to light.

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Challenges and Opposition Faced

As a female activist in a male-dominated era, Hobhouse faced significant resistance. From struggling to secure meetings with military commanders to being labeled a traitor back home, her journey was fraught with obstacles:

"They called her hysterical, labeling her as a 'hysterical spinster,' but she viewed it as a victory because it meant her arguments couldn't be denied." [21:19]

Her persistence led to the formation of a commission to investigate the camps, although immediate relief was limited:

"The government appointed a commission to investigate, but by then, winter had taken its toll, resulting in the deaths of nearly 4,000 children in just one month." [25:54]

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Impact and Legacy

Despite her substantial contributions, Hobhouse's legacy in Britain remains understated, though she is fondly remembered in South Africa. Her comprehensive reports and advocacy were instrumental in initiating changes in camp policies, albeit too late to prevent mass suffering:

"Everything that she did in her recommendations was confirmed in that report, but she's not named once, not honored, not thanked for what she did." [27:56]

Her dedication culminated in the establishment of the Women's and Children's Monument in Bloemfontein, unveiled in 1913, symbolizing her lasting impact:

"The monument features three central figures, including a woman with her dying child, reflecting Hobhouse's firsthand experiences." [34:38]

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Later Life and Other Causes

Post-Boer War, Hobhouse continued her activism, extending her efforts to women's suffrage and anti-war movements during World War I:

"She joined the suffragist movement, advocating for universal women's suffrage, and co-founded the Women's Congress for Peace and Freedom." [30:45]

Her advocacy faced criticism; she was branded a "peacecrank" and faced governmental pushback, yet she remained steadfast:

"She wrote an open Christmas letter to the women of Germany and Austria, appealing for peace, demonstrating her unwavering commitment to humanitarian causes." [30:45]

Hobhouse's final years saw her grappling with health issues, culminating in her death on June 8, 1926, in Kensington. Her state funeral in Bloemfontein was a testament to her enduring legacy and the deep respect she garnered in South Africa:

"Her funeral was a grand procession with 20,000 attendees, including survivors from the camps, honoring her extraordinary contributions." [34:38]

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Emily Hobhouse's Personality and Character

Hobhouse was portrayed as a complex and driven individual—intellectually sharp, relentless in her pursuits, yet not without flaws. Her relentless nature sometimes made her difficult to work with, yet her commitment never wavered:

"Emily was so well-read, but she was never easy to work with. She never backed down and often made poor financial decisions regarding her personal affairs." [32:53]

Her steadfastness ensured that her humanitarian efforts made a significant, albeit sometimes underappreciated, impact.

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Conclusion and Legacy Restoration

Elsa B. Britz emphasizes the importance of reclaiming Hobhouse's legacy in British history, advocating for her recognition as a pioneering humanitarian and feminist whose efforts resonate even today:

"Emily Hobhouse was a remarkable being and deserves her rightful place among well-known historic British figures." [37:27]

With the 165th anniversary of her birth and the upcoming centenary of her death, there is a renewed call to honor and remember Hobhouse's invaluable contributions to history and human rights.

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Notable Quotes:

• "I envy the boys, and I don't have anyone to cut my mental teeth upon." — Emily Hobhouse [04:51]

• "To keep these camps going is murder to the children." — Emily Hobhouse [12:12]

• "She has the face of a Madonna but she fights like a devil." — Captain (referring to Hobhouse) [21:19]

• "It's the last refuge of the unmanly and the coward." — Emily Hobhouse [21:19]

• "Emily Hobhouse was a remarkable being and deserves her rightful place among well-known historic British figures." — Elsa B. Britz [37:27]

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Legacy Links:

For more information on Emily Hobhouse and to explore the immersive historical experience at the Story of Emily museum in Cornwall, visit historyextra.com/join.

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This summary captures the essence of the "Emily Hobhouse: Life of the Week" episode, highlighting her pivotal role in humanitarian efforts, the challenges she faced, and the enduring legacy she left behind.

Transcript

[Emily Hobhouse]

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[Elsa B. Britz]

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[Emily Hobhouse]

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[Ann]

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[Elsa B. Britz]

Hello and welcome to Life of the Week from History Extra, where leading historians delve into the lives of history's most intriguing and significant figures. Pacifist, humanitarian, whistleblower from humble roots growing up in a small Cornish village, Emily Hobhouse went on to expose the horrors of British concentration camps during the Second Anglo Borough War. I spoke to Elsa B. Britz, biographer and content consultant at the Story of Emily, a museum exploring Hobhouse's life and times to uncover the story of a woman who defied the British establishment and was branded a traitor, but saved thousands of Boer women and children. We're going to be talking all about the life of Emily Hobhouse, and I Wonder, could you introduce us to her? Why was she so fascinating?

[Emily Hobhouse]

The Emily Opals was a pacifist, feminist and humanitarian who played an extraordinary role during the Anglo Boer War. She single handedly saved the lives of tens of thousands of women in the British concentration camps. And she traveled alone to a war torn country which is on its own, quite a feat to do. She also negotiated with the British military commanders while she was there to effect some of the changes to alleviate the suffering during that war. And during the war she traveled back because she realized she had to address this issue with the Home Government. And she managed to publish a 40 page report which was widely distributed and discussed in the Houses of Parliament. And in that time a commission was appointed to investigate the conditions in the camp. However, she wasn't loved for what she did. She was a whistleblower during war and she was hated as a traitor. And Joseph Chamberlain famously said about her, the empire is not threatened by a hysterical spinster of mature age. However, they were threatened.

[Elsa B. Britz]

That gives us some insight into her extraordinary life and what's coming up now. We should go back to the beginning of Emily's life. Could you just tell us where and when was she born?

[Emily Hobhouse]

She was born on 9th April, 1860 in the rectory of Saint Ives, near Liscard in Cornwall. Her mother was Caroline Trelawney and her father Reginald Hophouse, and both were from the land at gentry.

[Elsa B. Britz]

And what was her early life and upbringing like?

[Emily Hobhouse]

Happy childhood. She had everything she needed. But soon Emily was dissatisfied. So she was educated with her sisters by a governess at home. But she was so jealous of her two brothers who went to proper school and to Oxford, educated. She wanted that as well. You're not satisfied by this governess. And she famously said, I envy the boys and I don't have anyone to cut my mental teeth upon. And that was at 15. Certainly was this little spark in her. She wanted more.

[Elsa B. Britz]

So could we say that this family background, this education, shaped her later activism.

[Emily Hobhouse]

She liked to read and the rectory where she was born was always full of books and her mother knew several languages and she was encouraged to learn languages. So we gave her advantage in life because she could make connections. But I think Emily just had that special spark from when she was born. She was different because she just wanted to get away.

[Elsa B. Britz]

What do we know about her personal life and her relationships?

[Emily Hobhouse]

Quite ordinary. You know, she was a typical daughter of the Anglican priest, but there were all kinds of rumours that she may have had a lover. That is unconfirmed. But as soon as her father died. She left for London to stay with her aunt, Lady Mary, and Lord Arthur Hophouse. And then several months later, she went to America and there's something terrible happened to her. You know, she tried to do welfare work, which was in a way successful, but she met a man there and she fell in love and became engaged. And he was a fraudster and a crook, and she didn't marry him. Unfortunately, he disappeared. So she never got in marriage and had children. Unfortunate for her, but fortunate for many, many other thousands of people, because I think if she did get married and had children, she wouldn't the person she did. And her humanitarian work later in life actually made her the person who she was from the age of 39.

[Elsa B. Britz]

So what prompted her involvement in this humanitarian work during the Second Anglo Boer War?

[Emily Hobhouse]

Soon after the war broke out, three weeks later, she joined the South African Conciliation Committee, which is made up from liberal people in London. No connections from her family, connections that she joined them. And she immediately rose in the ranks. She became the secretary of the women's branch. And they organized a wonderful meeting in the Queen's Hall. They only allowed women in this meeting. 3,000 attended from right around the country. And they adopted resolutions. They said, we're against this war. Not that I think would have changed the course of the war, but it was a statement of how they felt. They wanted it on record. They said, we want the government to take note of this. And then she thought, but I want to do something more. She started her own fund, the typical fund that you would subscribe to. You give money and you get feedback with your pamphlets and your letters. Because she heard through the newspaper that there were scorched earth policy. It made the media, and especially liberal media like the Manchester Guardian of that time, that a farmhouse were being burnt and soldiers wrote to their mothers. And the mothers published some of these letters that they're uncomfortable, you know, they want to fight a war, but they're uncomfortable fighting a war by burning down houses of civilians. And then she started her own fund called the South African Women and Children's Distress Fund. But many people ask what exactly drove her not to just send money, but go herself. So she wrote. The constantly renewed picture of women and children, homeless, desperate and distressed, formed and fixed itself into my mind and never once left me. It became my abiding thought. The thought deepened to torture. So she was driven morally. She wanted to go herself. And this idea prompted her to start this fund and go to South Africa on her own, to a country she's never been to which is so different. The landscape, the temperature and it's huge, it's massive. The distances. What an exceptional person.

[Elsa B. Britz]

How did she prepare for South Africa and what was it like on her arrival?

[Emily Hobhouse]

So she prepared very well by letters of introduction. Typically she made contact with like minded females in Cape Town and they were both Africana women and English women. So the country was, they were already, you know, the English occupied in 1806. And you know, just imagine how she introduced herself. There were still some of those letters in existence. And on arrival she was met by a fairly large group of women who already knew she was coming. And she lived in their home. When she arrived, she did not know that there were concentration camps and that was because of censorship and martial law restricting the flow of information. But she learned it the very first day and that changed her plans a bit. But she had to obtain permission because it's martial law, it's Cape Colony, she needs to go into the war zone. And she had to get meetings with Alfred Milner, the British governor of Cape Town to go to the camps. But that's where first fights started because nobody was interested to give her an audience. They were fighting a war and she had to fight with his secretary to get an audience with him. And they said to her, well, you can join him for lunch with a bunch of other men for 15 minutes. And she said, oh, I'll come to the lunch. And then afterwards I said, thank you very much, on your way. And she said, I want a meeting. And she got a meeting for an hour. And she described the poor woman to him. She said, how do you think you'll govern thousands of Jones of ARCs and for the honor of England, you must stop these camps, you must make things right. And he told her, well, I in any case can't give you permission. Herbert Kitchener, who's now the commander in chief of the army, must give you permission to travel. And she said, oh, this woman hater, she said about Kitchener, he's going to give me a hard time. And he then wrote back and he said, you can go, but you're not allowed to go with a female companion because she asked at a local female company there because it's a bit frowned upon if a female travels alone. And she bought 6 tons of clothes and 6 tons of other provisions that she hooked onto a train. But the evening when she left Scape Town, she got onto a train and she was the only female with hundreds of British soldiers on a train. And this grueling journey lasted for five days. It was a difficult journey.

[Elsa B. Britz]

Could you describe the context of and the conditions in the British concentration camps? What could listeners picture?

[Emily Hobhouse]

So even you wrote hundreds of pages of what you saw. She said many women lose their children from disease. Their bodies weakened by lack of food. They just wane away. It's exactly like faded flowers. To keep these camps going is murder to the children. So when Erin arrived at the first camp that she visited in Bloemfontein, which is the capital of the Orange Free State, she's absolutely shocked. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. And she traveled by train between the camps that she was permitted to. So Kitchener refused that she crossed the Bow river to go into Transvaal. He also said she's not allowed to go north of Bloemfontein. She did, I think without him knowing. She came back to Cape Town and then got another permit from another person. So she defied him. She quickly realized that what she'd brought with her, that 12 tons of provision was a drop off the ocean. There were tens and tens of thousands in the camps and there were no soap, candles, blankets, most necessities. And most of the camps were in the middle of the veld. You know, if you know South Africa, the grasslands, it's not green, it's completely different than in England. And temperatures in those areas can Soar well above 30 degrees Celsius in the summer. There is no natural shading in most of the camps and most importantly, no fresh water or even free flowing water at all. So your fresh drinking water was a massive problem. And the rations were very poor that were given to people and they were uncooked. So on top of that there was a punishment system by the military. So if a female own children and the family arrived in the camp, sometimes older men and your male members of your family were still fighting, you were classified as undesirable. And that meant you got less food. The combination then of these poor rations and exposure to the elements in the sun and the extreme cold and diseases. Remember, there were no childhood vaccinations. And you were in close coast confined areas because people had to share tents. Between 10 and 12 people in a tent, whipping, cough and pneumonia, measles, typhoid, dysentery, led to far, far, far more deaths of women and children, especially children under the age of 16, then all the combined war casualties of the Boer side and the British side, including disease, far, far more. And Emily soon realized that she needs to talk to the commanders of each camp. And she tried to negotiate to various levels of Success to get fuel and boilers to cook water on the ground. Before she even went to England, one of the things that she wrote was, the women are very wonderful. She said, they cry very little, except when it comes to their children. Their cats are fresh to them and their feelings flash out. And she went and took the captain and she showed them because they were sitting outside. And she said, I wanted to box the captain's ears. She said, you shall look. I made him come into the tent and showed him the child skeleton. So she spoke to both sides. She wasn't just speaking to the Boer woman. So why did this all happen? So this caused Earth policy was implemented by Lord Frederick Roberts first. When the war switched to a guerrilla war tactics, the Boers started sabotaging railway lines, bridges, all those things. The counter attacks were the blockhouse systems and the barbed wire. And then that proved ineffective. The Boers continued fighting and then the scorched earth policy came in. And Lord Roberts initially said for every attack closest to a railway line, the nearest homestead would be burned down. And then they switched it and said for every sabotage attacks a radius of 10 miles, everything would be burned. And then Lord Kitchner came and he said, now we burn everything. Literally 30,000 farmhouses in the Orange Free State in Transvaal were burned down. But not only the farmhouses, the crops on the land, the grain stores. And what upset people equally as much is that all the livestock, the cattle, the pigs were slaughtered and killed in front of their eyes, even well spoiled. And some houses were blown up with dynamite. And the dwellings of farm workers, 100,000 of them. And then people were forced into the camp. So a lot could go to maybe their houses in town or family in the Cape Colony. But they were forcefully taken to these camps. And that is the short version of the camps.

[Elsa B. Britz]

It's astonishing really, looking back at it.

[Ann]

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[Emily Hobhouse]

You don't wake up dreaming of McDonald's fries. You wake up dreaming of McDonald's hash browns. McDonald's breakfast comes first.

[Elsa B. Britz]

How did Emily go about documenting and exposing this suffering?

[Emily Hobhouse]

She was actually a person who educated herself more and more through the years. And she traveled between these camps back and forth, back and forth. So in every camp she had a local committee organizing and distributing the needs as they wanted. And then she organized with the women in the Cape and funds from the uk. So it is a good system that she set up. But she spoke to women, she wrote all the eyewitness accounts down and she spoke to the commanders. Some were URI sector, they said I can help. Others just didn't want to work with her. But one of the big things was that sometimes there were medical doctors, British doctors and some nurses. Some were trained, some were not trained. But by that time the Boer women didn't trust the enemy's doctors to treat their children, which is understandable after what happened during the Scorched earth. So this 40 page eyewitness report documented some of the rations, some of the numbers of people in the camps, which is now far less than we know what was actually there. But she made a comprehensive list of what was needed as she went camp by camp. And she also made recommendations already in that report. And then the interesting second part of this report is it's quite, in a way, scientific for that time. She asked women 10 questions. So each woman responded to the same question so that from that you can get a scientific analysis. Were you forced? Was your housebound? How many children do you have? Do you have money and where do you come from? She didn't give the names, but in her private letters you do have their names. Something extraordinary from Emily is that she had excellent insight into the people and their culture. She picked it up very quickly and her observation skills were fine. She knew that there were already organised leadership structures in the camp. It forms naturally. And those were the minister's wives, the magistrate wives, the doctor's wives, you know, the schoolmaster's wives. And she started to learn the language fairly quickly.

[Elsa B. Britz]

One of the things that you've spoken about just briefly and mentioned as we've been talking is obviously Emily is a female activist in a very male dominated political sphere. What challenges did she face from this?

[Emily Hobhouse]

Thank you for asking that question because it can't be emphasized enough if you put yourself back 125 years because it's still a challenge today. She struggled every step of the way from fighting for days to get an audience with a male general through a male secretary. And people just dissing everything that she said that sorry, we're not going to talk to you because women's issues aren't our concern. And the press and letters in the paper that said it's just hysterical women's stories. We're not going to listen to this. And then continuous hammering on the fact that she was an old spinster when she was 40 years old. Because any married woman is so low on this class scale it's not worth listening to her. But she didn't back down. She responded nearly to every letter and sometimes with a lot of words. She, for instance, said, and she said this many times to call a woman hysterical because you do not know how to deny the facts. It's the last refuge of the unmanly and the coward. I always felt then, when termed hysterical, that I have triumphed because it meant my arguments cannot be met nor my statements denied. So when she wanted to return to South Africa at the end of 1901, behind the scenes they already sent telegrams and letters to each other to say, no, we're not going to let her return. So when she arrived in Cape Town, she was arrested and kept on the ship for five days. And they tried to get on the other ship to be deported, but she resisted like passively, aggressively for five days, said she was sick and eventually they carried her from the one ship to the other in a chair because she refused to walk. And then this poor captain who had to deal with her for five days said, well, she has the face of a Madonna but she fights like a devil.

[Elsa B. Britz]

That's an extraordinary depiction there. It's lovely to get that so close to somebody's personality and get personal insights. Emily didn't go down too well with the British government back at home. What was their reaction like to her?

[Emily Hobhouse]

Not at all. They actually hated her. Some of them said that Emily Harbowles is playing the Dickens with the women in the concentration camp and she's telling them that they nuts doing well because before that they were doing well, which is absolutely not true. So they called her traitor. And well, she saw herself as a pacifist and she wanted to do this for the honor of England, because in actual fact, she also criticized the poor generals. You know, she really did not take sides. And this was a lasting legacy, actually, of Emily, that people thought that she was pro Boer. She was not. She was really there for the women and children. This is absolutely a humanitarian thing and a feminist thing for women and children. And says it so many times in her letters to everything. And it was so clear from her writings, but maybe naively, and I understand it, she thought that people would morally join her and say, what's happening is wrong. But, you know, the war fever and the jingoism and everything was so, so rife, especially after Black Week and what happened at Spion Kop and the war dragging out, because everybody thought it must be over by Christmas. And it was embarrassing. But, yeah, she wrote 26 meetings in June, July of 1901, all over the country, and sometimes the police had to be called, and she was thrown with vegetables and sticks. And she continued. It was only the meetings at the Quakers, at the Friends Houses, that were, of course, very peaceful. But Emily really then started to actually became more and more radical, more and more social, liberal, socialist ideas also came into her mind. And she then wrote in a letter in public, and she said that politicians and cabinets are actually hotbeds of mischief, manured by ambition.

[Elsa B. Britz]

What a statement. Given all her work and this really visceral reaction to her, what impact did she actually have on camp policy? Camp conditions, British policy.

[Emily Hobhouse]

So on her return in June 1901, on the ship, she started amending the report. Writing the report for three weeks, she said she didn't lie outside on the deck or anything. She worked. So before publishing a report, she wanted to give the government a chance. So she went to see St John Broderick, the war minister, and managed to get a meeting. And she handed him the recommendations on that day and he responded to it and he called her back and amended the recommendation. She told him, she informed him about everything that was happening under his department and then obviously in Parliament. The report was Then published on 18 June 1901, discussed in both Houses of Parliament. Questions were asked of those in power and they would say, oh, everybody's comfortable. There are only 40,000 people in the camps. Everybody's got what they need. And then the government did take action. They appointed a commission to go and investigate the camps, but they left three months later. Unfortunately, that winter in South Africa was terrible. It snowed in some of the camps, that many children died just under 4,000 in that month. But the whole problem that came in with Emily Hoppeis being forgotten today in England, that's just not a well known name, is that everything that she did in her recommendations was confirmed in that report. But she's not named once, she's not honored, she's not thanked for what she did, she wasn't faked afterwards. She's basically being forgotten in history. And she just fades away in the many, many books, over a thousand written in Afrikaans, English and even in other languages about the Boer War. She's relegated to if a few pages, maybe some paragraphs. And yet she was the one who contributed the most about the civil population.

[Elsa B. Britz]

This dichotomy in her memory between Britain and South Africa I'm sure we're going to talk about in a moment because her legacy is such a vital part of this story. But before we do, I just want to round out the rest of her life. When she returned to England, what was life like for her? Did she get involved in any other causes at all?

[Emily Hobhouse]

Yes, she wrote a book called the Brunt of the War and Where it fell in 1902. Very quickly, with everything that you witnessed, the Bloemfontein doctor, he published a report. The people believed him rather than her, echoed everything that she said and she wrote to the press. Just look at the doctor's report. It's a British doctor. He says exactly what I'm saying. And even more, she wrote another book, but it was only published in 1923. Exceptional for the time. The War Without Glamour, which is women's experiences, mostly women's experiences of the war in their own words, how they experienced the war, also unseen of the time. And then she returns to South Africa in 1903 to see the scorched earth. What's left was after war because people stayed in the concentration camps for up to six months, some even longer. They didn't have anywhere to go. And that was actually pivotal because she only saw one house rebuilt in that time and there was just nothing left. And then she started other programs. She started a very, very clever planting and ploughing program with a fund again, £10,000 that was raised to have each district have one or two teams of oxen and mules to plant the area with the seed and the labour. Then she had the church ministers to organize it. And then she goes again back in from 1905 to 1908, just returning twice to England to start spinning and weaving schools and a lace school. Those were not so much about economy than emotional and psychological and she returns a final time, of course, in 1913 to unveil the Women's and Children's monument in Bloemfontein, a beautiful monument that was unveiled to honor the women and the children who died in the war. And there she makes a fantastic speech, the most marvelous speech which is today still relevant, about war, about equal rights, about human rights, women rights, forgiveness, and obviously the misuse of power. Beautiful speech.

[Elsa B. Britz]

Beyond the Boer wars, did she champion any other causes that we should talk about?

[Emily Hobhouse]

1909, she also became involved in the suffragist movement, but she didn't like the suffragettes so much because of the militant aspect of it and of course because they supported the First World War. She felt that women should not be excluded of the vote just because they are over 30 or they own property, which is again excluding people because of money and because of education restrictions. She thought all women should be able to vote and all men. So she joined that. She had several meetings with Gladstone and she batted heads with him, of course, and with her strong opinions. And she then joined the anti war course in the First World War with other famous figures such as Jane Addams and Aletta Jacobs. And they started the Women's Congress for Peace and Freedom, which is so, so huge during that time. And Asquith famously spoke about them and said, they're just a bunch of sparrows twittering. And she wrote an open Christmas letter to the women of Germany and Austria which was co signed by a hundred other now known women, you know, to appeal to them for peace. You know, wouldn't make an impact, but it's again a statement. And that letter was published in Sylvia Panka's the Women's Dreadnought, that famous feminist publication. So she's really tried. And by that time, the British government internal communications labeled Emily as a peacecrank because she went to Belgium and Germany during the First World War, even had a meeting with the German foreign minister again. She was discussed in the Houses of Parliament and some people called for arrest. It didn't happen. I think she was protected in a way by General Jan Smuts, who was her friend, and he was on the War Cabinet at that time. But they did take her passport from this.

[Elsa B. Britz]

Can we get a sense of what Emily was really like?

[Emily Hobhouse]

You know, she was so well read. But on the other hand, you know, Emily wasn't an easy person. Don't get me wrong, she wasn't perfect. She never, never backed down. She was difficult to work with. I mean, people who worked with her at the Spinning and weaving schools, you know, nearly fainted from exhaustion. And she kept going. And she said, well, rather wear out than rust out. And she also made some poor decisions, especially not with other people's finances, like a fund that was perfect, you could see the accounts to the penny, but with her own decisions about where she'd love. And she'd never get a rest. She'd never get a place to rest. She's all over the world, in Rome, in Florence, in South Africa, bought a house. You know, she made poor financial decisions when it came to herself. And she also wouldn't take kindly to advice. And she'd also tell other people what to do. So there's an element she, you know, the good and the bad, I think.

[Elsa B. Britz]

That'S so important to include making her a complete person.

[Emily Hobhouse]

Also, when. When she was arrested in Cape Town, she wanted to take the government to court, which is stupid decision. I mean, she started proceedings with a very expensive law firm in England. But luckily, uncle and Aunt Lords Arthur and Lady Mary told her, no, let go of this during the war, want to take a whole government to court.

[Elsa B. Britz]

So, as you hinted earlier, Emily does make one final journey to South Africa. Can you tell us about the circumstances of her death and the immediate aftermath of this, her later years?

[Emily Hobhouse]

Emily, in the last months of her life, lived on the Isle of Wight, and then she became very, very ill when she was transported to Kensington, where she lived only for eight days. And she dies there. Her brother came to see her and she said, oh, she's interested in politics and world affairs till the last days. And then she dies on 8 June, and there was service for her in St Mary Abbotts Church, not far from from where she passed away. Then her family offers her ashes to South Africa, especially to her best friend, Isabella, or to call Tibby Stain, the wife of the former president of the Orish Free State. And Tibby says, yes, yes, we want her ashes. And she starts to arrange a state funeral for Emily. And that is a beautiful funeral. There's this archival footage, film footage of that silent footage. The church service is held in Bloemfontein. The whole procession walks three or so miles from the church on foot, right to the women's monument, the same monument that Emily had input in the design of the three central figures. So those three central figures, it's a woman who sits with her dying child on her lap, and behind her stands another woman. And that's a scene from Springfontein concentration camp, which Emily witnessed herself. And that was one of the pivotal moments that made Emily realize, I have to return to England. I can't stay here anymore. It's. It's pointless. It has to go higher than this. And so Emily's ashes are interred into a little niche behind those three central figures of this massive monument. But that funeral was really something special. There are 200 girls in mauve dresses with girls carrying the ashes on a bier. Men on horseback, and they were boys in the concentration camp who survived. Hundreds of women walking behind. They're also survivors of the camps and they were women. And the spinning of weaving schools, dignitaries. It's truly the first and only state funeral for a female foreigner from South Africa. And yeah, 20,000 people attended the funeral.

[Elsa B. Britz]

This very much brings us on to Emily's memory and her legacy since her lifetime. How has she been perceived both in Britain, but also in South Africa?

[Emily Hobhouse]

So she's fondly remembered in South Africa. I'm not sure that she is remembered in Britain, but I hope that we can restore her memory. You know, it's 165 years since her birth this year. Next year it's 100 years after her death. I hope she would be remembered and she should be known and fondly remembered and celebrated not only by some South Africans or those who have connections with the Boer War, but throughout Britain as your own humanitarian and feminist and activist. Because so many of her words, especially about war, equal rights, misuse of power, gender rights, everything still resonates today because Emily Hoppel was a remarkable being and she deserves her rightful place amongst the well known historic British figures. So this is an interesting thing. One day she arrived in Cape Town and a man asked her, are you the Miss Hobdous? And she thought, she looked at him and says, well, I rather thought that I was that Ms. Hobdous. So it's really wonderful that England would embrace her as she's our. That Ms. Hobhouse.

[Elsa B. Britz]

That was Elsabee Britz speaking to me. Emily Briffett Elsaby is the author of Rebel the Remarkable Life of Emily Hobhouse and is also a consultant at the Story of Emily, an immersive historical experience based in Emily's childhood home in St. Eve, near Lisgard in Cornwall.

[Ann]

I was never really a runner. The way I see running is a gift, especially when you have stage four cancer. I'm Ann. I'm running the Boston Marathon, presented by bank of America. I run for Dana Farber Cancer Institute to give people like me a chance to thrive in life, even with cancer. Join bank of America in helping Ann's cause. Give if you can@b of a.com supportann what would you like the power to do? References to charitable organizations is not an endorsement by bank of America Corporation. Copyright 2025 this episode is brought to you by the Nissan Armada Pro 4X. With a twin turbo V6 engine ready to propel your adventures. Up to 8,500 pounds of towing capacity to haul all your favorite toys in space for eight passengers. Nissan's most powerful car yet will chew up and spit out anything you throw at it. Learn more about the all new to 1025 Nissan Armada at nissanusa.com Towing capacity varies by configuration. See Nissan Towing Guide and Owner's Manual for additional information. Always secure cargo.