An ongoing research project has been exploring the lives and stories of Orkney’s women doctors before the establishment of Scotland’s National Health Service.

It wasn’t until the late 19th century that women were able to study and graduate with degrees in medicine from Scottish Universities.

In 1890 Queen Margaret College for Women, Glasgow set up a medical school.  In 1892, Queen Margaret College became part of the University of Glasgow, and women students were then able to obtain the same degree as men.

In 1894 with a high commendation, Marion Gilchrist, became the first woman to gain a medical degree in Scotland and also the first female graduate of the University.

Long before that at The University of Edinburgh :

The “Edinburgh Seven” were the first women admitted to study medicine in Britain when they enrolled in 1869…A full-scale riot broke out when the women turned up to sit an anatomy exam at the university and male students pelted them with mud.

In 2019, Sophia Jex-Blake, Isabel Thorne, Edith Pechey, Matilda Chaplin, Helen Evans, Mary Anderson Marshall and Emily Bovell – were awarded honorary degrees on the 150th anniversary of their matriculation at the University of Edinburgh.

It was not until 1894 that The University of Edinburgh allowed women to graduate and the first doctors graduated in 1896.

Orkney’s Women Doctors

After graduating it was very difficult for women doctors to find placements. Many went into the emerging research fields around public health, especially where it affected women and children. To practise as doctors some came to Orkney where the conditions were less attractive to male doctors when travel by land and sea was an arduous experience.

The Orkney Women’s Doctors Research Group of local volunteers have already uncovered an extraordinary amount of information about the female pioneering doctors who worked in the islands. On Saturday 21 March they held an open exhibition of their work so far and explaining what they had discovered.

There were more women doctors practising in Orkney pre the NHS than they first realised. Some of the women came to Orkney for a short time, working out in the outer isles, where living conditions were often frugal for them. They had no transport, and had to rely on walking, cycling, or on islanders giving them lifts when an emergency arose. They were paid less than a male doctor was and so for islands having a doctor living and working was of great benefit to their communities.

As well as the women who came to Orkney to live and work, there were also those who were Orcadians. Those women had to leave the islands to study, for years, before being able to return.

The stories of the women doctors reveal lives of service and in many cases hardship. During both world wars some of them served in medical facilities overseas.

Dr Mary McNeill #ChooseToChallenge

To find out these stories, click on this link to the blog: Early Women Doctors in Orkney.

Facebook page : Orkney Women Doctors (1894 to 1948)

A Story of Courage : Sanday Islanders & the Crew of the Alex Hastie, 1940.

The group is always interested to find out more and if you have information to share email: owdpst@gmail.com

Understandably many of the early pioneering women doctors were also active members of the Women’s Suffrage movement, campaigning also for an improvement for working conditions for women, better housing, and child welfare.

What happens next?

Enthusiasm for the project has not waned, and as more details and stories emerge, more lives of Orkney’s early women doctors are discovered. The group hope to start to pull together many of these fascinating accounts and produce a book, possibly next year, to allow more people to access the information. Perhaps other communities across Scotland will be inspired by the work of these amazing volunteers to look into their local stories of pioneering women doctors.

Fiona Grahame

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