PERSONAL items belonging to suffragette Emily Davison have been uncovered thanks to an appeal in The Northern Echo.
Genealogist Maureen Howes asked the newspaper to help find Miss Davison's cousins, a family called Bilton, from Darlington, who were mentioned in reports of her funeral.
She hoped the family would want to join Northumberland County Council in marking the 90th anniversary of Miss Davison's death next year.
The council is planning a memorial to the pioneer as well as a number of events throughout the year.
Miss Davison, whose family was from Morpeth, died after being trampled by King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby.
She had run on to the course to try to pin the suffragette colours on the animal.
Following an appeal in the Echo, Professor Rod Bilton, from Liverpool University, contacted the paper.
Prof Bilton's grandmother was Miss Davison's cousin and the family only moved away from Darlington in the 1960s.
When she died she left artefacts belonging to Miss Davison and these have now been distributed to other members of the family.
Prof Bilton said: "My grandmother was close to Emily and they went on a lot of holidays together.
"When my grandmother died, my niece was given a number of Emily's things including a hat, and my father also had some postcards and other effects. I really hope we can get involved in the memorial next year and maybe meet up with other branches of the family."
Prof Bilton is hoping to donate Emily's possessions to the Suffragette Museum in London, or return them to the North-East.
He said: "I don't know if there are any plans for a museum or exhibition in the North-East.
"If so, I would love to get these items back near Emily's home."
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