Cat and Mouse Act licence

Postcard with a photograph of a Cat and Mouse license issued to the Suffragette prisoner Kitty Marion. Beneath is handwritten 'My first 'Cat and Mouse' Licence, everything traceable deleted, left at the next 'outrage'. K.M'. The licence was issued to Kitty under the terms of the Prisoner's (Temporary Discharge for Ill-Health) Act, passed in 1913. The Act allowed hunger striking suffragettes to be released from prison on licence when weak, then taken back into prison to serve the remainder of their sentence when their health improved. However, many suffragettes, including Kitty took the opportunity of freedom to remain on the run from the authorities, and, once recovered, undertake more militant 'outrages' such as arson. A prolific career militant Kitty intended to leave the licence with all identifying sections cut out at the scene of her next 'outrage, to mock the authorities and expose the ineffectiveness of the licence.