Pioneering Scottish doctor Elsie Inglis remembered in Edinburgh

RELATIVES of pioneering Scottish doctor Elsie Inglis gathered in Edinburgh on Sunday to mark the centenary of her death.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Nov 2017, 17:04 BST
Updated 12th Dec 2017, 02:53 BST

One of the first female doctors, Dr Inglis is known for establishing and running the Scottish Women’s Hospitals during the First World War.

She is also remembered as a key figure in the women’s suffrage movement.

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Her family were joined by Health Secretary Shona Robison, Lord Provost Frank Ross and Captain Slobodan Novakovic, defence attache at the Embassy for Serbia in London, for a service of commemoration followed by a wreath laying at her graveside in Dean Cemetery.

Reenactor Ailsa Clarke, dressed in a replica uniform worn by doctors in the Scottish Women's Hospitals, joins descendants of the pioneering Scottish doctor Dr Elsie Inglis at her grave at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh to mark the centenary of her death. Picture: PAReenactor Ailsa Clarke, dressed in a replica uniform worn by doctors in the Scottish Women's Hospitals, joins descendants of the pioneering Scottish doctor Dr Elsie Inglis at her grave at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh to mark the centenary of her death. Picture: PA
Reenactor Ailsa Clarke, dressed in a replica uniform worn by doctors in the Scottish Women's Hospitals, joins descendants of the pioneering Scottish doctor Dr Elsie Inglis at her grave at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh to mark the centenary of her death. Picture: PA

Dr Inglis set up 17 hospitals across France, Corsica, Greece, Macedonia, Romania and Serbia to treat soldiers, as well as a number of satellite hospitals and dressing stations.

• READ MORE: Plaque installed to remember war hero Elsie Inglis

Of almost 1,500 personnel, only 20 were men.

The hospitals served the war effort from 1914 to 1919 and were not formally disbanded until 1925.

Reenactor Ailsa Clarke, dressed in a replica uniform worn by doctors in the Scottish Women's Hospitals, joins descendants of the pioneering Scottish doctor Dr Elsie Inglis at her grave at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh to mark the centenary of her death. Picture: PAReenactor Ailsa Clarke, dressed in a replica uniform worn by doctors in the Scottish Women's Hospitals, joins descendants of the pioneering Scottish doctor Dr Elsie Inglis at her grave at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh to mark the centenary of her death. Picture: PA
Reenactor Ailsa Clarke, dressed in a replica uniform worn by doctors in the Scottish Women's Hospitals, joins descendants of the pioneering Scottish doctor Dr Elsie Inglis at her grave at Dean Cemetery in Edinburgh to mark the centenary of her death. Picture: PA

A service of thanksgiving will also be held at 2pm on Wednesday November 29 at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, 100 years to the day since her funeral there.

It will be attended by The Princess Royal and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

Related topics:EdinburghShona RobisonFrank Ross