--- title: "Pacifist Emily Hobhouse’s 1926 state funeral to be brought back to life in Bloemfontein" description: "A century after the state funeral of British pacifist, feminist and humanitarian, Emily Hobhouse, in Bloemfontein, the Emily100 movement is planning to re-enact the event. The recreation, taking place on 31 October 2026, will bring new life to Hobhouse’s story and connect younger generations to an important chapter in South Africa’s history." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "FEMINIST HISTORY" author: "Tamsin Metelerkamp" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/tamsin-metelerkamp/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-09-23-pacifist-emily-hobhouses-1926-state-funeral-to-be-brought-back-to-life-in-bloemfontein/" published: "2026-09-23T12:31:28" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 796 --- # Pacifist Emily Hobhouse’s 1926 state funeral to be brought back to life in Bloemfontein > A century after the state funeral of British pacifist, feminist and humanitarian, Emily Hobhouse, in Bloemfontein, the Emily100 movement is planning to re-enact the event. The recreation, taking place on 31 October 2026, will bring new life to Hobhouse’s story and connect younger generations to an important chapter in South Africa’s history. By Tamsin Metelerkamp · Published 23 September 2026, 14:31 SAST ## Key points - A century after Emily Hobhouse’s state funeral drew 20,000 people to Bloemfontein, the Emily100 movement will recreate the historic procession on 31 October 2026. - About 650 participants, including 200 schoolgirls, will march 600 metres to the National Women’s Monument in period clothing, with music, horses and a performance of Jan Smuts’ speech. - The British pacifist, feminist and humanitarian exposed the horrors of Anglo-Boer War concentration camps and continued helping South African communities after the war. - The commemoration will include exhibitions, heritage demonstrations, period food and a recreated camp – alongside The Story of Emily , a new musical theatre production. ## Content In October 1926, a grand funeral was held for Emily Hobhouse, a British pacifist, feminist and humanitarian, in Bloemfontein, Free State. Over 20,000 people attended as women clad in white carried her ashes through the streets, and interned them at the foot of the National Women’s Monument. It was the first state funeral for a woman, and the only one for a foreigner. Now, 100 years later, the [Emily100 movement](https://www.facebook.com/EmilyHobhouse100) is seeking to re-enact the historic event, bringing new life to Hobhouse’s story and connecting younger generations to an important chapter in South Africa’s history. ![Emily Hobhouse](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/mBDGpftHXDeZKdA9HRL3QgosYwI=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Tamsin-Hobhouse-funeral2_865339.jpg) *Emily Hobhouse, British pacifist, humanitarian and feminist, at the age of 34. (Photo: Supplied / The Story of Emily Collection)* “We remember Emily Hobhouse... a pacifist, feminist, humanitarian, and most of all, a whistleblower. At great personal cost, she exposed the falling conditions in the British concentration camps run by men. Alone, she challenged a powerful empire to face its abuses in the midst of a war when patriotic sentiment was running high. During an era when women had no voice, she demanded that injustice be recognised and redressed,” said Elsabé Brits, author and project lead for Emily100. On 31 October 2026, 650 people will take part in the recreation of Hobhouse’s funeral, wearing clothes specially made to match those of the time. As in 1926, 200 girls from the local Eunice and Oranje schools will lead the procession. The Free State Youth Wind Ensemble will be performing in the march. “We will walk the 600 metres on Monument Road, right up to the national monument, where there will be men and women on horseback... We will re-enact the whole programme of the day, the psalms, the scripture, and Jan Smuts still-relevant speech, with some surprises,” said Brits. ![State funeral of Emily Hobhouse](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/GuiZnM0WBoz5mnGLpctenxnLEMA=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Tamsin-Hobhouse-funeral5_250228.jpg) *Some of the mourners on the hill behind the Women’s Monument at the state funeral of Emily Hobhouse in October 1926. (Photo: Supplied / The Story of Emily Collection)* ### **The life of Emily Hobhouse** Hobhouse, born in 1860 at St Ive, Cornwall, was a woman ahead of her time. When the Anglo-Boer War broke out in 1899, Emily became involved with the South African Conciliation Committee, which was against the war, and soon after established her own fund, the South African Women and Children Distress Fund. According to [The story of Emily](https://thestoryofemily.com/emilys-life) website, Hobhouse became a witness to the injustices in the British concentration camps in South Africa while travelling between these sites in 1901, distributing aid and collecting evidence for a report. Her 40-page report about the conditions in the concentration camps was published in June 1901. While she was discredited by British imperialists for speaking out, a commission appointed to investigate conditions in the camps confirmed her findings. When Hobhouse travelled to South Africa in the years after the war ended, she continued to assist in relieving hunger and distress by raising money for a planting and ploughing plan, and establishing 26 spinning and weaving schools, and one lace-making school. ![Children named after Emily Hobhouse](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Kz0LVSiNWELPw7uAjEKzzEdopEk=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Tamsin-Hobhouse-funeral3_456769.jpg) *Children named after Emily Hobhouse, along with an Emile, lead the funeral procession in October 1926. The 200 girls – 100 from Eunice High School and 100 from Hoër Meisieskool Oranje – follow behind the litter. (Photo: Supplied / The Story of Emily Collection)* ![Key moments graphic.](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/DY1bLHb-6zjz-nrWr84jwtVW-3c=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Tamsin-Hobhouse-funeral6_264405.jpeg) ### **Labour of love** In recreating Hobhouse’s funeral, the Emily100 group has relied on 30 photographs and one film taken of the 1926 procession. They have also referred to a journal kept by Maynie Fleck, one of Hobhouse’s “right-hand ladies”, that contained 300 pages on the planning for the original event. Among the other features of the upcoming celebration in Bloemfontein are: - A new exhibition on the life of Emily Hobhouse. - A demonstration of how lace is made, plus spinning and weaving demonstrations. - A recreated section of a concentration camp as it looked back then. - Food in the style of the time. ![General Jan Smuts delivering his speech at the funeral of Emily Hobhouse in 1926](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/Ky5Mb-J2xEjRRlM7mLK2bWfkTl0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/attachments/orphans/Tamsin-Hobhouse-funeral7_276517.jpg) *General Jan Smuts delivers his speech at the funeral of Emily Hobhouse in 1926. (Photo: Supplied / The Story of Emily Collection)* Between 28 and 31 October, a new musical theatre production, The Story of Emily, will be staged at the Sand du Plessis Theatre in Bloemfontein, with writing by Deon Opperman and music by Janine Neethling. “We’re doing our best to honour the legacy of what happened, to celebrate this person who was an actual unicorn. It made no sense, what she did, in that time, to go against an entire country and government just because it was the right thing to do, just because \[she was\] following humanity. And it’s really special... to create something that celebrates that, especially in 2026, and in the discourse of the current day,” said Nico Scheepers, director of the production. **DM** *Those interested in finding out more about tickets for the Emily100 event can do so*[*here*](https://emily100.com/)*.*