Bertha Cave

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Bertha Cave
Cave, Bertha (Tatler) crop.jpg
Born14 November 1881
Sundridge, Kent, England
Died1951
Toronto, Canada
NationalityBritish

Bertha Cave (14 November 1881–1951) was a legal campaigner who fought, unsuccessfully, to be accepted to the bar.

Biography[]

Cave was born in Sundridge, Kent on 14 November 1881, the eldest of two children of Annie (née Barker) and James Thomas Cave. Her mother was a servant and her father was a butler for William Tipping. She attended Miss Luker’s private day school in the High Street, Brasted and the National School in Brasted.[1]

On 3 March 1903, Cave applied to become the first female member of the Gray's Inn, as it was necessary to be a member of one of the Inns of Court in order to be called to the bar. She was mistakenly accepted which was soon changed and she was rejected on the basis of her gender.[2] Cave appealed and in December of the same year, the case was heard, in proceedings that lasted 10 minutes,[3] in the House of Lords. It was argued that women "were under a disability by reason of their sex".[4] Again, she was unsuccessful, however, undeterred she continued her campaign alongside Christabel Pankhurst.[1][5]

In January 1904, she and Pankhurst spoke at the Union Society of London ladies' debate night on the topic of the admission of women to the Inns of Court.[6]

In November of that year, she attempted to represent her father in court (regarding non-payment of a bicycle) however, objections were raised regarding her gender and she was forced to move from the counsel benches.[1]

Cave unofficially married Colonel Ali Altaf (or Altof), a barrister, on 1 December 1905 and they travelled to India where Altaf became Advocate to the Chief Court of the Punjab. They returned to England in 1912 when the marriage was over and she lived in Shepherd's Bush and Hackney until 1920.[7]

On 16 June 1920, she became a fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society and then emigrated with her mother to Canada on 18 November 1920. She worked as a bacteriologist in Nova Scotia.[1] Her final years were spent in Toronto where she died in 1951.[1]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e Bourne, Judith (8 November 2018). Cave [married name Altof], Bertha (1881–1951). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.111931. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  2. ^ Schultz, Ulrike; Shaw, Gisela; Nelken, David; Hunter, Rosemary, eds. (2003). "The status of Women Lawyers in the United Kingdom". Women in the World's Legal Professions. Hart Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 9781841133195. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  3. ^ Andrus, R. Blain (2009). Lawyer: A Brief 5,000-year History. American Bar Association. p. 403. ISBN 9781604425987.
  4. ^ Bourne, Judith (2016). "Closed doors at the Inns of Court". Helena Normanton and the Opening of the Bar to Women. Waterside Press. pp. 82–83. ISBN 9781909976320. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  5. ^ Wade, Stephen (2015). "The Justice Women". The Justice Women: The Female Presence in the Criminal Justice System 1800-1970. Pen and Sword. p. 20. ISBN 9781473843653. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  6. ^ Hale, Brenda (20 March 2019). "100 Years of Women in the Law: From Bertha Cave to Brenda Hale" (PDF). UK Supreme Court.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ Bourne, Judith. "The Vanishing Act of Miss Bertha Cave" (PDF). Graya (132): 29–38.
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