Scotsman Obituaries: Maria Dlugolecka-Graham, vital link between Edinburgh and Polish medical universities

Dr Maria Dlugolecka-Graham received an honorary doctorate from the Medical University of Lodz this year

Maria was the third of four children born to Marie (nee Wilson) and Marian Dlugolecka. Her father, was an officer in the Polish Army who made a new life in Scotland as a printer in the wake of the Communist occupation. Her mother, orphaned at the age of eight, was Head of Modern Languages at St David’s, Dalkeith. The children were brought up with a strong Catholic faith and pride in their Polish heritage.

Maria attended Holy Cross Academy in Edinburgh, where she and twin sister Barbara became head girls in 1966. The family spent many summer holidays visiting relatives in Poland, which surely contributed to her sense of adventure, her desire to help those less fortunate than herself and her fluency in the Polish language.

Maria studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh and graduated MBChB in July 1977 having taken a BSc and PhD in Pharmacology on the way. In her professional career she worked in locations such as Cardiff, Dorset, Canada and Colombia, and latterly as a Consultant in Public Health Medicine back in her native Edinburgh, with a particular focus on the elderly.

During the 1980s, Maria and her parents took an active part in sending aid to Poland in fleets of vans and lorries while the country was under martial law. In recognition, the family was honoured by the post-Communist government – she received the Gold Cross of Merit of the Republic of Poland (1997) and the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (2006).

Maria was a devout Catholic and very active member of her parishes of St John’s in Colinton Mains and later St Margaret of Scotland in Loanhead.

It was at church that she met her husband and soulmate, Cecil Graham, the former secretary of Hibernian Football Club, whom she married in 1998.

Determined not to become a “golf widow”, Maria became a keen golf player herself, and the pair played frequently at their club in Musselburgh prior to Cecil’s death in 2018.

She continued to play afterwards, and developed a daily routine of rising at 5am for a power walk, followed by a vigorous swim.

After taking early retirement, Maria became Coordinator for the Polish School of Medicine at the University of Edinburgh.

The School ran during the Second World War, with the mission to preserve Polish culture and learning in exile and train medical officers for the Free Polish Armed Forces.

The graduates mostly remained in the West, and in 1986 they decided to set up a foundation to provide medical scholarships at Edinburgh for promising young Polish doctors in order to carry its legacy forward. As the years passed, they needed someone younger to administer the funds and mementoes, and Maria was the perfect fit with her medical expertise and Polish heritage.

Maria devoted huge energy and enthusiasm to creating strong academic partnerships between the University of Edinburgh and Polish medical universities.

Within her role at the Polish School of Medicine, she curated the School’s Historical Collection, in addition to managing the scholarships.

To date, there have been more than 100 scholarships. The recipients, all young Polish doctors, are full of praise for the care, support and encouragement Maria provided them throughout their studies.

Her unwavering devotion to the furthering of academic collaboration between Scotland and Poland has been recognised with numerous awards – medals of merit from the Universities of Poznań and Gdańsk; an MBE from Queen Elizabeth II for services to medicine and Scottish-Polish relations (2010); and honorary doctorates from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Kraków (2016), and the Medical University of Łódź in June 2023.

Professor Błażej Męczekalski of the Poznań University of Medical Sciences paid tribute, saying: “Dr Dlugolecka-Graham’s work in the field of co-operation between the University of Edinburgh and medical schools in Poland is characterised by incredible energy, passion and great respect for tradition. Scholarship holders and the whole academic community of Polish medical schools have the greatest regard for her long-standing and enormous work in the field of cooperation between the University of Edinburgh and Polish medical schools.”

And Professor Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor, the University of Edinburgh, added: “ Maria was a very well-respected colleague during her time as the University’s Co-ordinator for the Polish School of Medicine.”

As a mark of respect the University flags on Old College were flown at half-mast on the day of Maria’s funeral.

Outwith her day-to-day work and many social activities, Maria also took great interest in the life stories of Polish students in Scotland during the Second World War.

This year she co-authored a chapter on the Polish Veterinary Faculty in Edinburgh for a book about the History of Veterinary Education in Edinburgh. Maria also planned to document the experiences of students from other faculties.

When Maria suffered a brain haemorrhage on 27 September and died on 3 October, it came as a complete shock to everyone who knew her. She will be remembered fondly for her enthusiasm, mentorship, generosity, and enduring faith.

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