Edith Garrud

Edith Garrud (1872-1971) a pioneering suffragette who lived in Islington. In the early 1900s she became one of the first female martial arts instructors in the UK, setting up the ‘Suffragettes Self-Defense Club’ teaching jiu-jitsu to suffragettes, educating and empowering them to protect themselves during protests. Her legacy lives on in Thornhill Square, where a green plaque above her former home honours her role in the fight for women’s rights.