Violet Piercy

Violet Stewart Louisa Piercy (24 December 1889 Piercy was reported to have run unofficially and her mark was set on the Polytechnic Marathon course between Windsor and London.

Early life Piercy was born Violet Stewart Louisa Piercy on 24 December 1889 in Croydon. Her father was George Piercy; her mother was Louisa Sophia Piercy. Her father died shortly after her birth; a brother died aged 8. In 1923, she worked as a medical secretary in south London.

Running According to The New York Times, when Piercy began obtaining publicity for her running, "the prevailing notion at the time was that women were too fragile to run more than a few hundred feet." The ARRS also notes the date of the race as 14 December 1963. |group="nb"

Later life and death Following multiple moves after World War II, she may have lived in a women's shelter after the late 1950s. Records indicate she may have lived in Battersea and Wandsworth until the late 1950s.

A death certificate dated 11 April 1972 for "Violet Pearson, otherwise Violet Piercy, otherwise Violet Pierce" gives brain haemorrhage as the cause of death at University College Hospital in London. Her death certificate states that she had no fixed address.