In November 2018, gigantic portraits were raked into the sandy coasts of the United
Kingdom to commemorate British heroes of World War I.
Among these portraits is a Scottish surgeon and suffragist, whose bravery and tenacity
saved thousands of lives.
Her name?
… Elsie Inglis.
Inglis was one of the first British female surgeons, at a time when it was almost inconceivable
that a woman could hold such a position.
But Inglis proved the notion wrong, she was recognised as a surgeon who was --
“…quiet, calm, and collected, and never at a loss, skilful in her manipulations, and
able to cope with any emergency.”
While working in Dublin and London, Inglis was appalled by the standards of female care.
She believed that hospitals fully run by women was the way forward!
In 1894, she established her own practice called The Hospice, a midwifery resource and
training centre in the heart of Edinburgh’s Old Town.
The Hospice was moved to Abbeyhill as the Elsie Inglis Memorial Hospital, from 1925
to 1992, where many Scots today take pride in having been born there.
A charitable surgeon, Inglis often waived fees of her poorest patients and paid to have
them recuperate by the sea.
And her passion spread to the fight for women’s voting rights.
She attended events throughout the country to share her message and launched the Scottish
Federation of Women’s Suffrage Societies in 1906.
During this time Inglis became close with fellow doctor Flora Murray and they lived
together in Edinburgh.
Recently, commentators have speculated on the nature of their relationship, suggesting
that they may have been lovers.
When Britain entered the war, Inglis offered her medical services on the battlefield.
“My good lady, go home and sit still,” the British War Office said.
Sitting still was the last thing Inglis would do.
Even though the British Government didn’t want her help, other governments did.
And so, the first Scottish Women’s Hospital Unit was dispatched in December 1914 to France.
The units were staffed entirely by women, from the physicians to the cooks to the mechanics.
14 medical units in total had been outfitted and 1,500 women sent to serve across Europe.
During the war, Serbia was especially devastated by an epidemic of typhus.
They were desperate for help and the Scottish Women’s Hospital Unit responded, arriving
in Serbia like a host of angels sent from Heaven. The Serbians trusted them completely.
When Inglis arrived to replace the head of the Unit, she helped the Serbians improve
hygiene and access to clean running water.
To commemorate her work, the Serbians built her a memorial drinking fountain!
And she was the first woman to receive the Serbian Order of the White Eagle.
The Serbian UK Ambassador said: ‘In Scotland she became a doctor. In Serbia
she became a saint.’
Inglis later went to support the Serbian troops in Russia.
Whilst there, she became increasingly sick with cancer but refused to leave until all
of the Serbians returned home safely.
She sent a telegram home that read: “Everything satisfactory and all well except me.”
Donned with her decorations, she landed in Newcastle on November 25 1917.
A day later, she passed away with her sisters by her side.
Edinburgh’s streets were lined with people on the day of her funeral, including both
British and Serbian royalty.
The Scottish Women’s Hospital Unit continued its work until the end of the war.
But Elsie Inglis left a legacy long after the war was over for future women doctors
and a higher standard of healthcare.
She also penned a novel titled ‘The Story of a Modern Woman’. Though fiction, the
story suggests similarities to Inglis’s own life.
She writes a passage where her protagonist realises she doesn’t know fear.
On her return from Serbia, Inglis herself confided in a friend that 'It was a great
day in my life when I discovered that I did not know what fear was.'
A fearless woman ahead of her time, Inglis paved the way for the modern women of today.