Elsie Edith Bowerman (18 December 1889 – 18 October 1973) was a British lawyer, suffragette, political activist, and RMS Titanic survivor. Early life Elsie Edith Bowerman was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the only daughter of William Bowerman and his wife Edith Martha Barber. Her father, William, was a prosperous businessman and died when Elsie was five years old. She attended Wycombe Abbey as a boarder from the age of 11 in 1901, becoming the youngest student there. She later wrote the biography of Frances Dove, her headmistress during her time at Wycombe. After spending some time in Paris, Elsie continued her education at Girton College, Cambridge where she studied for the Medieval and Modern Languages Tripos and received a class II in her final examinations in 1911. Suffragette activism Whilst at Girton she became a committed suffragette, taking part in informal activism such as giving out Votes for Women to others and organising suffrage events for her peers. She once had Emmeline Pankhurst stay for a night when she gave a talk in nearby Cambridge. Despite being an active member of the WSPU, there is no record of Elsie taking part in militancy at this time. Elsie campaigned on behalf of the WSPU at the general election in 1910. She addressed an open-air meeting to an audience of 1000 in Hastings, alongside Evelyn Wharry and Victor Duval. Shortly after the 1910 general election, the suffragettes agreed to a truce from militancy in order to give The Conciliation Bill, a cross-party initiative to grant a limited form of women suffrage, the best chance of succeeding. This truce lasted till November 1910, when the Government announced it would allocate no more time to the Bill. In response, suffragettes marched on Parliamentary Square and clashed with police in an event known as Black Friday. Elsie's mother, Edith, who was also a member of the WSPU, took part in this event. She later told author Antonia Raeburn that ‘a nearby policeman [gave] her a blow on the head. ‘He caught me by the hair and flinging me aside said: ‘Die then!’ I found afterwards that so much force had been used that my hairpins were bent double in my hair and my sealskin coat was torn to ribbons.’ In 1914, Elsie was appointed the Eastbourne district organiser for the WSPU. Aboard the Titanic On 10 April 1912 Elsie Bowerman and her mother Edith