Struggle and Suffrage in Southend-on-Sea by Dee Gordon Dee Gordon

Author:Dee Gordon, Dee Gordon [Dee Gordon, Dee Gordon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781526717658
Barnesnoble:
Goodreads: 43972543
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2019-06-27T00:00:00+00:00

Thus, although better housing, a new hospital and more leisure facilities were all projects completed between the wars, not everyone had access to such improvements.

However, in times of depression, or uncertainty, it is not unusual, for women in particular, to turn to fortune-telling for reassurance, and this was the case in Southend. In 1906, ‘Madame Nora’ was fined 40s plus 4s costs for practising palmistry at the Kursaal. Seances also became particularly popular during the wars, and such local bazaars as those organised by St Saviour’s Church in Westcliff featured palmists as one of the attractions – in 1938 for instance, it was ‘The Lady From Egypt.’ This was one area where money could be earned fraudulently, telling women what they wanted to hear. In 1916, the Chelmsford Chronicle of 2 June refers to five local women ‘pretending to tell fortunes with intent to deceive’. These were named only by their ‘professional’ names as Madame Churchill, Madame Marguerite, Madame Roberts, Madame Keiro and Madame Leena. Arrests and fines were no deterrent in the years that followed. There were another five prosecutions reported in the issue of 24 January 1936, featuring ‘Madame Rosa’ – revealed as the widow of local illusionist The Great Rameses – ‘Madame Zena’, otherwise Alice Fisher of London Road, Westcliff, who told the court she was ‘regularly employed at the mayor’s garden parties’, ‘Madame Corona’, otherwise Annie Corona of Church Road, Southend, ‘Madame Astral’, otherwise Marion Arding of Queen’s Road, Southend, and ‘Madame St Aubyn’, otherwise Lynn Perhan of Belleview (sic) Road, Southend. Evidence for these prosecutions was given by police clerk Catherine Turner, and ‘assistant police matron’ Harriet Cannon, revealing that Madame Rosa produced a crystal claimed to have come from King Tutankhamen’s tomb, all the women predicting long lives for those ‘crossing their palm with silver’. They were all fined £2 with 10s costs.

Local women were also appearing in court during the First World War for more innocent offences. Even Essex girls married to ‘aliens’ had to register, along with their husbands, but Kate Iberti, married to an Italian, was unaware of this. She was living at the Royal Hotel in February 1915 (as per the Southend on Sea Observer) and her status meant that she was interviewed by a detective inspector. She had failed to register, but complained that the hotel should have informed her of this, because she now felt ‘such a German’ – as a result, the case was dismissed and she registered as required. Similarly, in April 1915 (according to the Southend and Westcliff Graphic 30 April), Elizabeth Knight, boarding-house keeper of Trinity Avenue, was summoned for failing to notify the Alien Registration Officer of aliens in her household. Her case too was withdrawn, as it was felt that her appearance in court would be sufficient to serve as a deterrent to others. However, it does not seem to have worked, as three other landladies were fined for failing to give notice of the presence of aliens in their accommodation the following month.

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