BBC Breakfast hosts Jon Kay and Sarah Campbell shared heartbreaking news on Tuesday
A BBC Breakfast star shared a devastating update after the tragic death of a “trailblazer” on Tuesday (November 11).
During today’s edition of the popular morning show, presenters Jon Kay and Sarah Campbell brought viewers the latest developments from across the UK and beyond.
They were accompanied in the studio by Emma Vardy, who delivered employment and salary updates, whilst Carol Kirkwood provided regular weather bulletins throughout the programme.
Later in the show, Jon and Sarah honoured Dorothy Lawrence, a journalist who masqueraded as a male soldier to reach the frontline during World War I.
“More than a century later, she’s finally received a headstone at her grave in North London,” Jon disclosed, before a moving segment was broadcast, reports the Express.
“Dorothy Lawrence wasn’t just forgotten about. A journalist determined to report from the trenches during the First World War, she was arrested, silenced and committed to an asylum for almost 40 years,” correspondent Tim Muffett revealed.
“During the First World War, women were not allowed to report from the frontline.”
Nevertheless, Dorothy was determined to alter that situation. She purchased a bicycle and travelled across the Channel, befriending British troops during her journey.
The journalist concluded that the only method she’d successfully reach the Western Front was to disguise herself as a man. After a gruelling ten-day stint in the trenches, Dorothy fell “very ill” and was forced to reveal her true identity.
She was promptly arrested, shipped back to Britain and instructed to keep quiet about her experiences until after the war.
“She was gagged until the end of the Armistice, and in 1925, she was put in an asylum, deemed mad, and died there in 1964. That’s not right. I think that’s terrible,” said army veteran Steve Davies.
Dorothy was laid to rest in an unmarked pauper’s grave in what is now New Southgate Cemetery & Crematorium in North London, one of over 40 owned and operated by Westerleigh Group.
Since then, Dorothy’s grave has been restored, with a special ceremony held to pay tribute to the journalist and officially unveil her headstone. As part of this project, Dorothy’s relatives were traced.
“She’s a trailblazer, isn’t she? Frontline female journalist, brave. 40 years confined to a lunatic asylum and died there unrecognised and unknown, no visitors. Very sad and this will make up for it, I hope,” expressed Dorothy’s great niece, Gill Barber.
Former Royal Engineer Angus Donaldson chimed in: “Amazing. She went to extremes to do what she did. We are eternally grateful for her service,” while Cliff Belsey concluded: “[She was] a very brave lady. Great respect… Very emotional and extraordinary.”
BBC Breakfast airs daily on BBC One at 6am