A statue for Elsie

Month of fundraising events to honour the WWI doctor

WHEN THE FIRST WORLD War began, Dr Elsie Inglis offered to set up a fully equipped medical unit staffed by women for the war front. She was told by the British War Office, "Dear lady, go home and sit still".

She refused to do that. Instead, she raised large amounts of money and established the Scottish Women's Hospital in France and Serbia. She travelled to Romania, Malta and Russia and helped provide medical assistance on the Western Front.

Dr Inglis was born in India in 1864 and brought up in Scotland, studying medicine in Glasgow, Dublin and Edinburgh. She was a pioneer, founding hospitals for poor women, joining the suffragette movement and setting up the war hospitals which were entirely run by women.

In Edinburgh many people were born in the Elsie Inglis Maternity Hospital established near Holyrood in 1925 continuing the work which had begun in a hospital on the Royal Mile.

Elsie Inglis died in hospital in Newcastle from cancer after returning from Serbia, and her funeral was held at St Giles Cathedral with members of the Royal Family in attendance. Her body lay in state at St Giles before the service, and she was buried in Dean Cemetery. Edinburgh's streets were filled by hundreds of mourners.

The Elsie Inglis Tribute Campaign hopes to raise £50,000 for a Royal Mile statue memorialising the pioneering Scottish doctor and suffragist - to make sure that the legacy of her work is never forgotten. The City of Edinburgh Council has already agreed that “the life and work of Dr Elsie Inglis would be commemorated in the form of a statue to be bequeathed to the citizens of Edinburgh, and to support any activities to raise the funds needed”.

Walking tours are just one part of the campaign's work, with a goal of raising £50,000 to erect a statue to her memory.

The Lord Provost's charity, the OneCity Trust is responsible for collecting donations on their website, or you can email elaine@onecitytrust.com for details on how to contribute.