Emily Williamson: The woman from Didsbury who saved a million birds and founded the RSPB

A campaign has been launched to honour the legacy of forgotten conservationist Emily Williamson, with a statue in the grounds of her former home in Manchester.

Emily, who was from Lancaster, but lived in Didsbury for most of her life, founded what is now known as the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds - the RSPB.

From the 1870s to the 1920s, women were gripped by a fashion craze that decreed all hats should be laden with feathers. Not just feathers, but wings and whole birds – often several at a time.

'The Bird Hat' Credit: The Met

Some species were slowly brought to the brink of extinction, and all for the sake of fashion.Emily Williamson was so appalled that birds were being killed, one day in 1889, she invited her friends over to her house in Fletcher Moss Park for tea and asked them to pledge to 'Wear No Feathers'. From there, the Society for the Protection of Birds, now the RSPB, was born.

After 30 years of campaigning, in 1921 The Plumage Act was passed - banning the importation of exotic feathers. The RSPB says Emily's campaigning helped save over a million birds.

Becky Speight, CEO of the RSPB, said: "We estimate there were 61 species of bird at risk of extinction because of the plumage trade."

A statue is to be commissioned to stand in Fletcher Moss Park in recognition of Emily's work in saving countless birds.

Four sculptors have been chosen to design the statue and it is now up to the public to choose their favourite design.

Four sculptors have come up with their own designs and people can now cast a vote for the winner.

The winner will be announced in November 2021 and the aim is to erect the statue on 17 April 2023, on what would have been Emily's 168th birthday.

To vote for your favourite, click here.