| Florence Elizabeth Mary MacAulay | |
| Alma Mater: | Somerville College, Oxford |
| Known For: | The Women's Marseillaise |
Florence Elizabeth Mary MacAulay (1862–1945) was a British suffragist and part of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU). In 1909, she wrote the lyrics to The Women's Marseillaise, which was a popular marching song for the WSPU.
MacAuley was born in Reading, England. Her father worked as a bookseller.[1] MacAuley received higher education in Somerville College (at the time Somerville Hall) at the University of Oxford.[1] She dropped out of Oxford after two terms, owing to the death of her father.[1] [2] She returned to Oxford in 1886 but did not complete her degree.[1] [2] MacAuley worked as a teacher for 20 years, including six years at Great Yarmouth High School. She never married.[3] [4]
MacAuley joined the WSPU by 1907, engaging herself as an organiser and planning activities in multiple locations across England. This entailed living a nomadic lifestyle for a few years. She was the WSPU organiser for Canterbury and South Kent from 1910-1912. During this time she lived in "Trevarra", a boarding house used by WSPU organisers and escaped "mice". In 1913 MacAuley was arrested alongside Annie Kenney in London.