The ‘first women’ of the Newcastle College of Medicine

Posted on 31 January, 2021 by nspeccoll

This blog was inspired by the simple question of ‘who was the first woman to gain a medical degree from the College of Medicine at Newcastle?’ In fact not so simple a question! The history of women’s medical education in Britain is a complex, fraught, and litigious one as women were forced to fight separately for access to medical education; for access to the medical profession; and for access to various closed branches of medicine. Rather than one ‘first woman’ there are therefore a group of several ‘first women’, as the College of Medicine at Newcastle expanded the award of its medical degrees firstly to women who had already received a medical education at non-degree awarding women’s medical colleges; then opening it’s medical programme to women, and finally admitting women to the various higher medical degrees and specialisms.

Thank you to research volunteer (and retired member of Library staff!) Alan Callender for this blog piece and for all of the hours of painstaking research behind it. Information was gathered using our collection of student registers and medical college class lists (Newcastle University Archive) together with information kindly given through family research.

Women’s access to the medical profession in the Nineteenth Century

By the mid-19^th Century there were two significant barriers to British women becoming doctors – firstly access to a medical education, and secondly access to the registration process that enabled them to practice.

In 1834 when the ‘School of Medicine and Surgery at Newcastle’ was established, women were barred from a British medical education. However, until the middle of the century it was possible to gain a medical education abroad and return to practice in Britain without registration. The gradual opening of medical education to women in both Europe and the USA during this period increasingly made this route viable (for those with money to travel).

1858 Medical Act – The Creation of the Medical Register and a new barrier for women. This Act sought to professionalise medicine by formalising the educational requirements to practice medicine in Britain. However, by placing registration in the hands of those institutions who already prohibited women’s medical education, it acted as an insurmountable barrier to British women wishing to practice medicine. In 1865 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson (1836-1917) used a loophole to force the Society of Apothecaries to grant her registration. The society promptly closed this route and with it any options for women to legally practice medicine in Britain.

1869 the ‘Edinburgh Seven’ attempt to gain a medical education at a British University. In 1869 a group of seven women led by Sophia Jex-Blake (1840-1913) gained admittance to Edinburgh University and were allowed to attend some medical classes and take some medical examinations. As they progressed controversy grew as various sympathetic supporters (including much of the public press) pitted against opponents to the idea of women doctors. The fight was long and complex as Sophia Jex-Blake fought to access various routes, whilst the University responded each time by trying to close these routes. Eventually in 1873 the women lost their campaign. Despite having completed their medical degree courses the High Court ruled that Edinburgh University could not be forced to award medical degrees to women.

Image of the Edinburgh Seven — The Edinburgh Seven, re-produced under Creative Commons c/o Edinburgh Museums

1874 The first British Medical College for Women is established. In 1874 Sophia Jex-Blake and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson founded the London School of Medicine for Women. Finally women had access to a medical education. However the College could not award degrees, and for students of the college the bar on medical registration still remained.

Image of Sophia Jex-Blake — Sophia Jex-Blake. Photographer: Swaine, re-produced under Creative Commons c/o Welcome Collection

Image of Elizabeth Garrett Anderson — Elizabeth Garrett Anderson. Photographer: Swaine, re-produced under Creative Commons c/o Welcome Collection

1877 A route to the registration of female doctors is established. In 1876, the ‘Enabling Act’ was passed which stated that the nineteen British medical examining bodies were permitted to accept women candidates but were not compelled to do so. In 1877, the King and Queen’s College of Physicians in Ireland became the first British medical qualification body to admit women for examination. In the same year, an agreement was reached with the Royal Free Hospital that allowed students at the London School of Medicine for Women to complete their clinical studies there.

The 1870s and 1880s and the growth of women’s medical schools. Once a route for both the education and registration of women had been established, three further colleges of medicine for women were established: 1886 Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women; 1888 Medical College for Women Edinburgh; 1890 Glasgow School of Medicine for Women (Queen Margaret College).

1880s and 1890s Women begin to access University education. Meanwhile, in 1867 the establishment of the North of England Council for Promoting Higher Education for Women had started the movement for opening university lectures to women, and by the 1880s and 1890s women were increasingly allowed to study at British universities. However, despite gaining admittance, and even passing university examinations, women were not allowed to be awarded degrees. This was significant for women wishing to study to medicine, as the refusal to award a degree meant an effective bar to the profession. In 1878 the University of London finally granted a supplementary charter to enable the admission of women to degree programmes, followed in 1895 by Durham University (the College of Medicine at Newcastle having by this time become a college of Durham University).

1890s and 1900s The growth of regional co-educational medical education. The opening of degrees to women in British universities did not necessarily mean that these women were allowed access to medical courses. In fact the University of London, the first University to grant women access to its degrees, did not admit women to its Medical Faculty for a further 39 years. Interestingly however, Durham started to accept women onto their medical degrees immediately. And in line with Durham various other northern universities also began to open their medical schools to women in the early 1900s. Equally significantly, most did not create a separate medical school for women as the early Scottish colleges had done. For women this was the start of a trend towards both co-educational medical training for men and women, and the growth of the role of regional universities in providing women with medical training.

Many other barriers were to present themselves over the next century, but we’ll stop there for now! And celebrate our pioneering medical graduates:

Our first female medical student 1892

The first female student – Edith Blanche Joel – appears on the student register at the College of Medicine. She appears again during the academic years of 1893/4 and 1894/5. However, at this time she would not have been permitted to graduate.

Our first women MBBS’s (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery), 1898 and 1902

In 1896 three students from the London School of Medicine for Women, unable to graduate from this institution, registered at the College of Medicine at Newcastle to complete their medical degrees: Grace Harwood Stewart, Margaret Joyce, and Claudia Anita Prout. All three take their medical examinations and graduate in 1898. In 1896 Mary Evelyn De Russett also appears on the student register as a first year. In April 1902 she became the first female medical student to graduate who had undertaken all of her medical training at Newcastle.

Grace Harwood Stewart (Billings) (1873 – 1957) was born at Portishead in Somerset, one of nine children to James and Louisa Stewart. Following her graduation from the Newcastle, she registered as a medical practitioner on 11 November 1898. Grace married Frederick Walter Billings, a builder, in 1899 and the same year established her medical practice at 3 Pittville Parade Cheltenham – the first woman to set up a medical practice in Gloucestershire. She went on to have a remarkable career and in addition to running her own practice was also a medical officer of the Cheltenham Infant Welfare Association and, a pioneer in family planning, she eventually set up the Cheltenham Municipal Women’s Welfare Clinic. During the First World War she was in charge of the St Martin’s V.A.D Hospital and was a locum anaesthetist at the Cheltenham General Hospital. Grace retired in 1936. Her daughter, Brenda, became a GP in Cheltenham and then School Medical Officer for Gloucestershire County Council. Her son, Stewart, had a distinguished naval career, becoming a Rear Admiral. He was awarded the CBE in 1953. She died on the 13 June 1957 at the Douro Nursing Home in Cheltenham aged 84. A great biography of Grace with some fabulous details about her amazing life can be seen here.

Image of Grace Billings — Grace Billings, image kindly provided c/o the King and Billings families.

Margaret Joyce was born in Blackfordby, Burton-on-Trent in 1873. Following her graduation from Newcastle she registered as a Medical Practitioner on 18 November 1898. Margaret was in practice in Burton-on-Trent, and then became House Surgeon at the New Hospital for Women in London. She was subsequently in practice for many years in Liverpool and then Ashby-de-la-Zouch. Margaret died on 28 August 1966 at Syston in Leicestershire.

Claudia Anita Prout Rowse (Bell) was born in Hackney, London in 1873, one of five children. Following her graduation from Newcastle she registered as a medical practitioner on 15 November 1898. Claudia married Hubert Bell, a shipping agent in Chinkiang, China in 1910. The marriage register states that Claudia had been resident in China for 12 years at this point. Claudia died on 30 October 1950 at Reigate, Surrey.

Claudia Anita Prout Rowse, taken circa 1934. Image kindly provided by family researchers.

Mary Evelyn De Russett (Howie) was born in Blackheath c.1872, although the family later moved the Tynemouth. Following her graduation from Newcastle, she registered as a medical practitioner on 9 May 1902. Mary married a doctor in 1902, John Coulson Howie, and together they ran a practice in Glasgow. After John’s death in 1912 the family moved to Newport. In 1920 she was appointed Maternity and Child Welfare Medical Officer for Durham County, a post which she held until her retirement. It should be noted that this post was open to her only because she was a widow, the Civil Service Marriage Bar prohibiting the employment of married women until it was abolished in 1946. Mary died in the Leazes Hospital in Newcastle on 7 September 1946.

Our first Women MDs (Doctor of Medicine), 1903 and 1906

An MD is a higher doctorate or research doctorate. In 1903 Selina Fitzherbert Fox, became the first woman to graduate with an MD from Newcastle. Selina had undertaken her initial training at the London School of Medicine for Women before transferring to Newcastle to complete her MBBS in 1899 and then proceeding to her MD. In 1906 Sophia Bangham Jackson became the first woman to gain her MD who had undertaken all of her medical training at the Newcastle College.

Selina Fitzherbert Fox was born in 1871. After her graduation from Newcastle she registered as a medical practitioner on 10 May 1899. Selina worked as an Assistant Medical Officer for the Zanana Bible and Medical Mission between 1900 and 1901 but returned to Britain because of ill health. She settled in Bermondsey and worked at the Church Missionary Society’s medical centre until it closed. As there was still the need for medical care for women and children in the area, Selina founded the Bermondsey Medical Mission in 1904 and was awarded an M.B.E for her work as its founder and director on 1 January 1938. Selina died at Bermondsey Medical Mission Hospital on 27 December 1958. A family blog about Selina and the campaign for a Blue Plaque to honour her can be seen here and here.

Group photograph — Selina Fitzherbert Fox. Image c/o her family who found this picture with the words Selina Fitzherbert Fox written on the back. They believe that Selina is seated in the middle, front row.

Sophia Bangham Jackson (Smith) was born in Finsbury Park in 1877. Following her graduation from Newcastle she registered as a medical practitioner on 12 November 1904. Sophie practiced in Thornton Heath, Chingford and then Selsden. She married Frederick B Smith in 1939 and died on 18 January 1952 at Selsden.

Our first women to be awarded a Bachelor of Hygiene, 1902 and 1909

In September 1902 Emeline Da Cunha, who had gained her Licence in Medical Surgery from Bombay University in 1894, became one of two ‘first women’ to be awarded a Bachelor of Hygiene from the College of Medicine at Newcastle. Joining her was Esther Molyneux Stuart who had undertaken her initial medical training at Edinburgh University. The first woman to be awarded a Bachelor of Hygiene who had completed all of her undergraduate training in Newcastle was Gertrude Ethel O’Brien who gained her MB in 1908 and subsequently her Bachelor of Hygiene and Diploma in Public Health in 1909.

Emeline Da Cunha was born in Panjim, India in 1873 and was awarded her initial Licence in Medicine and Surgery at Bombay University in 1894, funded by the Medical Women for India Fund. She later graduated from Newcastle with a B.Hy in 1902 and registered as a medical practitioner in England on 30 September 1901. From entries in the Medical Register it would appear that Emeline then returned to India to continue her career.

Esther Molyneux Stuart (Parkinson) was born in Liverpool on 19 January 1877. Esther registered as a medical practitioner on 4 August 1899 following her graduation from Edinburgh University, and in 1902 graduated from Newcastle with her B.Hy. She married Thomas Parkinson in 1903 and died on 19 September 1912 at Benton in Northumberland.

Following her graduation from Newcastle Gertrude Ethel O’Brien (Bartlett) registered as a medical practitioner on 15 August 1908. She married Robert Bartlett, and died on 19 February 1953 in Barnet.

Our first women to be awarded a Diploma in Public Health, 1908 and 1909

In April 1908 Lilian Mary Chesney (M.B. Ch.B. Edinburgh University 1899) became the first Newcastle female graduate to be awarded a Diploma in Public Health. One year later in 1909 Gertrude Ethel O’Brien became the first woman who had undertaken all of her medical training at Newcastle to receive this award.

Lillian Mary Chesney was born in Harrow in 1869. Following her graduation from Newcastle she registered as a medical practitioner on 31 July 1899 and subsequently set up a practice in Harley Street. Later in life Lillian moved her practice to Sheffield and then to Palma de Majorca in Spain. During the First World War Lillian served as a doctor in the Kragujevac (Serbia) Unit 1914-1915 and the London (Russia and Serbia) Unit from 1916-1917. Thanks to the research of John Lines whose great aunt, Margaret Box, also served with the SWH, we have evidence that by October 1918 Dr Chesney appears to be running the hospital in Skopje (Serbia) for the SWH. Margaret refers to Dr Chesney in several of her wartime letters and calls her “our chief”. Lillian died on 20 December in Mallorca, Spain.

Images of the the Kragujevac (Serbia) Unit setting up camp. Lillian Chesney was the Assistant Medical Officer at this time, although we do not have an image of her. Both images kindly provided by Nikifóros SIVÉNAS

Our first women to be awarded a Master of Surgery, 1911 and 1923

In 1911 Charlotte Purnell was awarded a Master of Surgery, having undertaken her initial training at the London School of Medicine for Women before transferring to Newcastle. In 1904 Ruth Nicholson started her medical course at the College of Medicine at Newcastle, gaining her MBBS 1909, and BHy., D.P.H. in 1911. In 1923 she became the first woman to gain a Master of Surgery who had undertaken all of her initial medical training at Newcastle.

Charlotte Purnell was born in Dursley, Gloucestershire c1869. Following her graduation from Newcastle she registered as a medical practitioner on 13 April 1908. For most of her medical career Charlotte worked in Church Mission Society hospitals in Palestine and Transjordan. Her work was recognised by the award of the O.B.E in 1933. Charlotte died on 20 June 1944 in Amman in Transjordan.

Ruth Nicholson was born in Newcastle in 1885, one of six children. Following her graduation from Newcastle she registered as a medical practitioner on 16 September 1909. Before the First World War she practiced in Palestine, but returned to England at the start of the War, subsequently serving as Surgeon and Second in Command of the Royaumont Military Hospital in France. For this work she was awarded the Croix de Guerre and the Médaille d’Honneur des Épidémies by the French government. After the war she specialised in obstetrics and gynaecology as Clinical Lecturer and Gynaecological Surgeon at the University of Liverpool with consultant appointments at Liverpool hospitals. She was a founder member of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in 1929, being elevated to fellow of the College in 1931. Ruth died on 16 July 1963 in Exeter. A blog about Ruth’s fascinating life story can be seen here.

Image of Ruth Nicholson graduating — Ruth Nicholson, image kindly provided c/o the Nicholson family

You may also be interested in an accompanying blog piece by Alan discussing the largely un-credited role of our female graduates in WWI: They also served…

The Haunting of Ballechin House – October 2020

Posted on 9 November, 2020 by nspeccoll

It wouldn’t be Halloween without a ghost story, and this month’s treasure provides just that. The Alleged Haunting of B— House was published in 1899 and compiles first-hand accounts of events perceived by guests, staff and tenants at Ballechin House, Perthshire, in the 1890s.

Title page from The Alleged Haunting of B--- House, 1899 — Title page from *The Alleged Haunting of B— House*, 1899 (Clarke Miscellaneous Collection, Clarke Misc. 437)

In 1892 Ballechin came to the attention of The Marquess of Bute via a priest who had experienced sleepless nights there, having been disturbed by unexplained noises. Bute had an interest in the occult and was part of the Society for Psychical Research (S.P.R.). Five years later, Bute leased Ballechin to enable members of the Society and selected guests to visit as part of an investigation to record any perceived phenomena for a sustained period. Ada Goodrich Freer, another member of the S.P.R., arrived at Ballechin with a friend on the 2^nd of February 1897. She and other visitors maintained journals and wrote letters during their stay. These first-hand accounts, made between February and May 1897, along with reflections from the editors (Freer and Bute), make up the core of the book.

Floor plan of Ballechin House from *The Alleged Haunting of B— House*, 1899 (Clarke Miscellaneous Collection, Clarke Misc. 437)

The book relates sounds, visions and other occurrences experienced by occupants of Ballechin during the tenancy. The visitors engage in hypnotisms, Ouija Boards, crystal gazing and automatic writing. An appendix records nearly 100 ‘audible phenoma (see images below)’, including shrieks, groans, crashes and (less traditionally scary) ‘monotonous reading’. As editors, Freer and Bute stated that they offered ‘no conclusions. This volume has been put together, as the house at B—was taken, not for the establishment of theories, but for the record of facts’.

Conspectus of audile phenomena at Ballechin House, February – March 1897, from *The Alleged Haunting of B— House*, 1899 (Clarke Miscellaneous Collection, Clarke Misc. 437)

Shortly after the end of the tenancy, on June 8^th, an article entitled On the Trail of a Ghost appeared in The Times. Written by a visitor to Ballechin, it damned the investigation, insisting that any phenomena were either noises from the plumbing or created by other inhabitants. He particularly criticizes Freer, stating that ‘simply because she is a lady, and because she had her duties as hostess to attend to, she is unfit to carry out the actual work of investigating the phenomena in question.’ The author continues to denounce the S.P.R.s methods more generally as ‘extremely repulsive’, reliant on ‘gossip’ as evidence and of ‘degrading beings whom it calls “sensitives and mediums”.

Illustration of a faceless apparition, observed by ‘Mr Q.’, a visitor at Ballechin, from *The Alleged Haunting of B— House*, 1899 (Clarke Miscellaneous Collection, Clarke Misc. 437)

Freer was disowned by the S.P.R following publication of this article. Frederic W H Myers, one of the founding members of the S.P.R. had also visited Ballechin during the investigations and ‘decided that there was no such evidence as could justify us in giving the results of the inquiry a place in our Proceedings’. Two years later, Freer and Bute still published this account of occurrences at Ballechin, including Myers’ statement in the opening pages. In the copy of the book held by Newcastle University, someone has added the name of Ballechin to the title page in pencil.

The Alleged Haunting of B– House is part of a collection created by neurologist and medical historian Edwin Clarke (1919-1996). Clarke’s collections reflect his varied interests and include books on medical history and North East England, as well as antiquarian material. This volume is from the Clarke (Edwin) Miscellaneous Collection, which brings together publications on the occult, ritual and folklore. Most of the books date from the 19^th to the mid 20^th Century. You can browse all of the books in the Clarke (Edwin) Miscellaneous Collection on Library Search.

The Enlightened Educationalist: Lady Bridget Plowden (1910-2000) – September 2020

Posted on 29 September, 2020 by nspeccoll

“I’ve found the Chairman I want and that’s it”. The words of Sir Edward Boyle, the then Conservative Secretary of State for Education, upon first encountering Lady Bridget Plowden in 1963, which sums up in a nutshell Bridget and her innate ability to lead and influence.

Photograph of Lady Plowden at her desk [Plowden (Lady Bridget) Archive, BP 30/4/33/15]

Wife of wealthy industrialist Edwin Plowden and mother of four, Yorkshire-born Lady Bridget Plowden (nee Richmond) became a prominent public figure later in her life. Having initially focused her energies on her children and supporting her husband’s career, at the age of 53 she was appointed Chairman of the Central Advisory Council for Education (CACE), despite her lack of experience, by Sir Edward Boyle, after wowing him at a dinner party with her knowledge and enthusiasm.

It was an appointment which surprised many, but education became a passion and personal commitment for Bridget and an area in which she wielded great influence and brought about significant transformation.

The Plowden Report

The CACE was tasked with considering and reviewing all aspects of primary school education, which was held at the time to be undervalued and underfunded. Said to have been both an inspirational and a demanding Chair, Bridget presided over the compilation of a 1200-page report, Children and their Primary Schools, published in 1967.

The report, known most often by its unofficial name ‘The Plowden Report’, was ground-breaking and reshaped primary education in the UK. It advocated child-centred approaches to Education, stressing that “at the heart of the educational process lies the child“. It reduced class sizes, introduced classroom assistants, recommended annual school reports and abolished corporal punishment.

Photograph of Lady Plowden with school children and their teacher taken whilst visiting a primary school [Plowden (Lady Bridget) Archive, BP 30/4/33/3]

Although not everyone agreed with all the report’s recommendations, and aspects of the report have naturally since been superseded by more recent innovations and developments over time, The Plowden Report nonetheless remains a hugely significant and transformative milestone in the history of primary school education on the UK.

Education for Roma and Traveller Children

Amongst the many findings of The Plowden Report was that Roma and Traveller children were “the most severely deprived children in the country” and that, owing to their travelling lifestyle, they had worse access to education than any other minority group.

Determined to improve this situation and demonstrating a continuing and broader commitment to primary education, Bridget helped establish The Advisory Council for the Education of Romany and other Travellers (ACERT) in 1973. As the first Chair of ACERT’s steering committee, Bridget used her status and influence to create a positive environment for work towards improving the education of Roma and Travellers, shining a light on the issue and placing it firmly on the political map, benefitting huge numbers of children within the Roma and Traveller communities.

Front cover of ACERT report number 1 [Plowden (Lady Bridget) Archive, BP/9/9/1/1]

Broad field of interests

Bridget held a great many other public roles, including Vice-Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors (1970 – 1975) and Chairman of the Independent Broadcasting Authority (1975 – 1980). Her broad field of interests also encompassed adult education, the care and resettlement of offenders, the role of voluntary work, young adult unemployment and training, and women and employment.

The Plowden (Lady Bridget) Archive

After her death 20 years ago this month (September 2020), Lady Plowden’s family generously gifted her archive to Newcastle University Library in 2003. An extensive and rich resource reflecting her many areas of concern, the catalogue to the archive is available to researchers via the Special Collections web pages. View the Lady Bridget Plowden Archive online.

Puffin Books – August 2020

Posted on 1 September, 2020 by nspeccoll

2020 marks 80 years since the creation of Puffin Books, which are the children’s division of Penguin Books. The idea initially came about in 1939 after a meeting between Noel Carrington and Allen Lane, the founder of Penguin Books, with the creation of the company a year later.

The original idea was to publish a series of children’s non-fiction books which were a success. The first Puffin storybook was entitled Worzel Gummidge and appeared in 1941. During the early years Puffin Books encountered problems such as paper rationing during World War II and libraries still preferring hardback books rather than paperback.

Title page of Worzel Gummidge by Barbara Euphan Todd — Title page of *Worzel Gummidge* by Barbara Euphan Todd, illustrated by Tony Ross (OUP, 2002), text copyright © Barbara Euphan Todd 1936, reprinted by permission of Oxford University Press. (Book Trust Collection, FICTION TOD WOR)

Under its first editor, Eleanor Graham, Puffin aimed to publish 12 titles per year. During the 1950s, stories which allowed children’s imaginations to wander were published. Titles included Charlotte’s Web and C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.

Under the editorship of Kaye Webb, children’s publishing increased during the 1960s from 151 to 1,213 titles which included reprints of such classics as The Hobbit . New titles at this time included Stig of the Dump. A picture book list and teenage fiction began to be published as well as the introduction of The Puffin Book Club, which still exists.

Titles published during the 1970s and 1980s included The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the Spot the Dog series.

Recent titles include Harry and his Dinosaurs and the Charlie and Lola series which have both been televised. Roald Dahl’s popularity as an author has led to an annual celebration which takes place on 13^th September.

Grey’s Monument struck by lightning – July 2020

Posted on 28 July, 2020 by nspeccoll

Illustration of Grey Column, Newcastle, 19th Century — Illustration of *Grey Column, Newcastle*, 19th Century (ILL/11/218, Local Illustrations)

The recent Black Lives Matter protests in UK cities and across the world, have drawn attention to statues which ‘commemorate’ individuals who are thought to have profited from the slave trade. Newcastle’s major statue is Grey’s Monument. This is a Grade I listed monument to Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey who was prime minister during the passing of the Great Reform Act of 1832, which set in motion the abolition of the slave trade.

The monument was built in 1838 and consists of a statue of Grey on top of a 135-foot (41 meters) high Roman Doric column. It was designed by local architects John and Benjamin Green, and the statue of Grey was created by the sculptor Edward Hodges Baily (the creator of Nelson’s statue in Trafalgar Square). It was paid for by public subscription.

After over a century of marking the top of Grey Street, the monument was hit by a bolt of lightning on 25 July 1941, which dislodged the head of Earl Grey from his body.

The Newcastle Chronicle reported the dramatic incident:

“The stone head of Earl Grey, 133 feet above the ground at the junction of Grainger, Grey and Blackett Street, crashed to the tram lines without causing any personal injuries, and was badly damaged.

“It was impossible to state whether the original head could be restored.”

The bits of head were gathered up and were reputedly placed in a nearby shop window, with the slogan “Earl Grey’s losing his head over our prices”. The statue was headless until 1947, when local sculptor Roger Hedley (the son of painter Ralph Hedley) created a new head based on the preserved fragments of the original.

Illustration of Grainger Street, depicting Grey's Monument and buildings — Illustration of *Grainger Street*, depicting Grey’s Monument and buildings (ILL/11/261, Local Illustrations)

Our Local Illustrations contains many representations of Grey’s Monument standing tall during the 19^th Century.

In Blackberry Time – June 2020

Posted on 24 June, 2020 by nspeccoll

Page from annotated typescript for theatre production 'In Blackberry Time' — Page from annotated typescript for theatre production ‘*In Blackberry Time*‘, 1985 (Chaplin (Michael) Archive, MC/4/1/1/3/1)

In Blackberry Time was produced collaboratively by Alan Plater and Michael Chaplin. The play is based on Sid Chaplin’s book of short stories that go by the same name. Sid started to write the autobiographical book before his death in January 1986. His son, Michael Chaplin, and wife, Rene Chaplin, edited and published the book on his behalf posthumously with Bloodaxe Books in 1987.

As we can see from this first page draft of the play, the narrator establishes himself as a son of a coal miner who ‘writes what I please, always writing out of daily contact with people’. Sid was highly regarded for his depictions of North East mining and working-class communities drawing upon his experiences growing up in the coal mining community of County Durham and of work in the pit. Sid began working in the mines from the age of sixteen before moving away to be a writer for the National Coal Board’s publication Coal.

With his vivid portrayals of life in region Sid was an inspiration to many North East writers. In the 1960s he became a mentor figure to the playwright Alan Plater. When Plater was approached by Max Roberts, the Creative Director of Live Theatre, to write a North-East play, Plater was drawn to Sid’s work. In a meeting with Michael it was decided that they would together adapt the latest of Sid’s work into a play. This extract from a typescript of In Blackberry Time was written in 1987, the same year that Sid’s final and posthumous book was published.

The play was staged at Live Theatre in 1987 and starred actors Val MacLane and David Whitaker.

In these audio interviews you can hear Michael Chaplin’s account of his collaboration with Alan Plater. In the interview Michael claims that In Blackberry Time began his career as a writer. He has written some 30 plays for Radio 4 including the series ‘Two Pipe Problems’ and ‘The Ferryhill Philosophers’ and various single plays like ‘The Song Thief’. His work for television includes the series ‘Grafters’, ‘Dalziel and Pascoe’ and ‘Monarch of the Glen’ and films like ‘Just Henry’.

The production of In Blackberry Time was also the beginning of a long relationship with Live Theatre. Michael wrote another two plays for the theatre, ‘You Couldn’t Make It Up’ (with Tom Chaplin) about the travails of being a Newcastle United fan, and ‘A Walk-On Part’, based on the diaries of ex-Labour MP Chris Mullin.

You can find the Archives of Michael Chaplin and Sid Chaplin here at Newcastle University Special Collections and Archives. You can also find material in our Live Theatre Archive including Max Robert’s copies of draft script for In Blackberry Time and production photographs.

Florence Nightingale – Influence and Power – May 2020

Posted on 12 May, 2020 by nspeccoll

Today marks the bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale (12th May 1820) – famed for her work improving sanitation and reforming nursing. Her importance to modern health is still recognised. To coincide with this anniversary the World Health Organization named 2020 the international year of the Nurse and Midwife. Roles we are certainly celebrating in the current pandemic today.

Pencil drawing of Florence Nightingale — Drawing of Florence Nightingale from *The Life of Florence Nightingale* (Volume One) by E. T. Cook **(Pybus (Professor Frederick Charles) Collection, Pyb L.i.35)**

Much of the discussion of Nightingale relates to her work in the Crimea and the improvements she made to nursing – you can read more about her role in this previous treasure. However she was also instrumental in influencing sanitation improvements within the military more widely.

Nightingale did this by using her experience and knowledge to influence those with the responsibility for making decisions on military policy. This letter below
(CET/2/30/1) from the Charles Edward Trevelyan archive, dated 3/11/58, is one of a file of correspondence from Nightingale to Charles during his roles as Governor of Madras and financial member of the Indian Council at Calcutta. In the first, Nightingale tells Charles that she is ‘anxious to do a little “jobbing”’, meaning that she intends to turn her influence for gain, although rather than gains for herself, Nightingale ‘”job[]s” for the army + for my enemies’. The letter offers to share ‘facts’ with Trevelyan which may influence decisions made in relation to military policy. Visit CollectionsCaptured see larger images of the letter.

Transcription of letter from Florence Nightingale to Charles Philips Trevelyan (CET/2/30/1):

Private

30 Old Burlington
W
3/11/58

Dear Sir Charles Trevelyan

Like others of my kind, I am anxious to do a little “jobbing” but I “job” for the army + for my enemies – While “jobbing” is usually either for oneself or one’s friends – that is the only distinction I presume to make.

You are all powerful at the Treasury. We often want the Treasury no, I mean in our Army Reform.

I think I could sometimes tell you facts, not opinions, which might influence your judgement. Of course I do not suppose that my opinion would influence yours.

Things are coming before the Treasury now with reference to us. (“us” means the troops + me).

I venture to send you a copy of my Report to the War Office – which is really as it imports to be, “Confidential” (and I am sure you will keep it so).

It is in no sense public property.

I do not suppose that you will have time [even] to look into it. But I should esteem it a very great favor + proof of confidence (which I should keep inviolably sacred) if, at any time, when “our” matters come…
Florence Nightingale

The confidential report which was included is no longer present, but it was likely Subsidiary Notes as to the Introduction of Female Nursing into Military Hospitals. Unfortunately, the letter is incomplete, but it remains valuable evidence of Nightingale reaching out to influential figures to achieve her aims.

Nightingale’s influence on health in the British Indian Army continued. In the 1860s she collected information for The Royal Commission on the Sanitary State of the Army in India. In addition to the publication of the Commission’s final report in 1863, Nightingale published her own response, which can be viewed online.

The file of correspondence from Nightingale to Trevelyan also includes a copy of printed notes on the official report’s recommendations by the principle inspector general of the Medical Department, Dr J McClelland (Trevelyan,
CET/2/30/10). Nightingale has annotated these, highlighting inaccuracies and providing additional information, likely with the aim of influencing Trevelyan’s actions (see below – find larger images on CollectionsCaptured).

Trevelyan, and the role of British colonialism in India are controversial and contested histories. Nevertheless, while governor of Madras Trevelyan did instigate improvements in local sanitation, possibly as a direct result of Nightingale’s influence opinion would influence yours.

They also served… – April 2020

Posted on 23 April, 2020 by nspeccoll

Thank you to Universities at War volunteer (and retired member of Library staff!) Alan Callender for this blog piece and for all of the hours of painstaking research behind it.

The University of Durham Roll of Service, produced in 1920, lists 2,464 staff and students who had served in World War One from the various Colleges that made up Durham University at that time. These include men and women from Armstrong College and the College of Medicine at Newcastle upon Tyne, predecessors to Newcastle University.

Only four of our female graduates appear in this book, but this hides the fact that many of our female staff and students, particularly our medical graduates, did serve in military units. These women, usually categorised as serving under “unofficial” women-only military units, were denied the criteria for the Roll of Service which required them to belong to a unit which appeared in the “official lists of the Navy Army or Air Force”. This article is intended to honour the women whose wartime stories deserve recognition.

Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service

The Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. The SWH was spearheaded Dr Elsie Inglis, as part of a wider suffrage effort from the Scottish Federation of the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, and funded by private donations, fundraising of local societies and the National Union of Women’s Suffrage Societies, and the American Red Cross. As voluntary all-women units, the Scottish Women’s Hospitals offered opportunities for medical women who were prohibited from entry into the Royal Army Medical Corps. By the end of the War 14 medical units had been outfitted and sent to serve in Corsica, France, Malta, Romania, Russia, Salonika and Serbia. Over 1,000 women from many different backgrounds and many different countries served with the SWH.

We have found six graduates from the College of Medicine who served under the SWH:

Dr Ruth Nicholson (M.B., B.S. 1911) served as Surgeon and Second in Command at the Royaumont (France) Unit from 1914-1919.

Dr Lilian Mary Chesney (D.P.H. 1908) served as a doctor in the Kragujevac (Serbia) Unit 1914-1915 and the London (Russia and Serbia) Unit from 1916-1917. Thanks to the research of John Lines whose great aunt, Margaret Box, also served with the SWH, we have evidence that by October 1918 Dr Chesney appears to be running the hospital in Skopje (Serbia) for the SWH. Margaret refers to Dr Chesney in several of her wartime letters and calls her “our chief”.

Dr Sophie Bangham Jackson (M.B., B.S. 1904 and M.D. 1906) served as a doctor in the Ajaccio (Corsica) Unit 1916-1917.

Dr Margaret Joyce (M.B., B.S. 1898) served as a doctor in the Royaumont (France) unit in 1915.

Dr Elizabeth Niel (M.B., B.S. 1907, M.D. 1909, D.P.H. 1910) served as a doctor in the Sallanches (France) Unit 1918-1919.

Dr Grace Winifred Pailthorpe (M.B., B.S. 1914 M.D. 1925) served as a doctor in the America (Serbia) Unit 1916.

Black and white group photograph of staff at the Royaumont Hospital — Staff of the SWH Royaumont Unit. Dr Ruth Nicholson stands centre with dark hair, and to her left is Dr Frances Ivens, Head of the Unit. Image kindly provided by S. Light.

Women’s Hospital Corps

Under the leadership of militant suffragists Dr Flora Murray and Dr Louisa Garrett Anderson, the Women’s Hospital Corps (WHC) ran a military hospital at the Claridge Hotel in Paris and then at Wimereux, for the French government (their proposals having been rejected by the British authorities). In 1915 however the War Office asked the WHC to set up a military hospital in London entirely staffed by women. It became known as the Endell Street Military Hospital. Open from May 1915 to December 1919, its doctors treated 26,000 patients and performed over 7000 major operations.

Co-founder and Surgeon Dr Flora Murray undertook her medical training at the London School of Medicine for Women and was a registered student at the College of Medicine in Newcastle 1900-1902 from where she graduated M.B., B.S. in April 1903 and M.D. in April 1905.

Dr Florence Barrie Lambert (M.B., B.S. 1906) served as Chief Medical Officer for the WHC until 1916 and was then appointed by the R.A.M.C. as Inspector of the Electrical and Massage Departments for the British convalescent camps.

Black and white photograph of an operation — On the operating table, a wounded soldier is being given chloroform before being operated on by British women surgeons at the Hotel Astoria (or Hotel Claridge), Paris. The chloroform is being administered by the Surgeon-in-Charge Dr Flora Murray (seated figure, seen from the back), and she is assisted by Dr Marjorie Blandy (right). Image provided by the IWM.

Voluntary Aid Detachment (V.A.D.) Hospitals

Although not “official” military hospitals, in reality V.A.D. Hospitals often became auxiliary hospitals to larger military hospitals.

Dr Grace Harwood Stewart Billings (M.B., B.S. 1898) served as Medical Officer of the St Martin’s V.A.D. Hospital in Cheltenham. This is from the final report of the Red Cross Gloucestershire, 1914-19: “St. Martin’s Hospital was opened in June 1915 at Eversleigh, Bayshill, with accommodation for 40 patients. It was entirely staffed by former pupils of the Ladies’ College, Cheltenham. At first it was only intended to be a convalescent hospital, but in a very short time this was altered and patients came direct from the front the same as to all the other hospitals in the town.” The Chief Officers are listed in this report as:

Commandant: Miss Donald

Medical Officer: Dr Grace S Billings

Superintendent: Miss Wintle A.R.R.C.

Black and white image of a hospital ward — St Martin’s V.A.D. Hospital in Cheltenham, image kindly provided by Gareth Knight.

Royal Army Medical Corps Units and the British Army

In fact some female medical graduates did serve as doctors within the British Army during the War, despite the British authorities’ official stance.

The Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), re-named in 1918 the Queen Mary’s Auxiliary Army Corps (QMAAC), was set up in 1917 as a voluntary unit under the British Army. It eventually employed 57,000 women in a range of occupations. For female qualified doctors there were opportunities here to serve alongside their male counterparts, although they were never allowed to serve officially under the Royal Army Medical Corps.

A second route came in 1916 when an acute shortage of male doctors led to a change in policy. To fill the gap the War Office decided to hire a number of women doctors as ‘civilian surgeons’ who were to be attached to RAMC units serving in Malta, the main hospital base for the Mediterranean Theatre of War. In total 85 women doctors were hired.

We have found three medical graduates who served in the British Army via these routes:

Dr Stephanie Patricia Laline Hunte Taylor Daniel (M.B. 1917, B.S. 1918) served as Medical Official in the QMAAC, stationed at Catterick Camp, from 1917-1919.

Dr Ethne Haigh (M.B., B.S. 1913) served as a Civilian Surgeon under the RAMC, and was stationed at Floriana Military Hospital (Malta) 1916-1917 and No. 65 General Hospital in Salonika 1917.

Dr Ida Emelie Fox (M.B., B.S. 1902) served as a Civilian Surgeon under the RAMC and was stationed at No. 65 General Hospital in Salonika, 1916-1918.

Black and white image of tents forming Floriana Barracks Hospital — Floriana Military Hospital, Malta. Image kindly provided by maltramc.com

Black and white image of medical staff — An RAMC Unit in Malta 1916/17, kindly provided by Katrina Kirkwood (niece of Dr Isabella Stenhouse un-uniformed wearing a brimmed hat), University of Oxford http://ww1centenary.oucs.ox.ac.uk/.

Nurses for the British Army

Two of the women who appear in the Roll of Service were graduates or students of Armstrong College who during the War served as nurses for hospital or ambulance services registered under the British Army, thus meeting the criteria of the Roll of Service.

Janet C. Brown (Armstrong College) served as a nurse for two military hospitals during WWI, 1^st Southern General Hospital (Birmingham) 1916-1917 and 1^st Northern General Hospital (Newcastle upon Tyne) 1917-1919.

Clementine Mary Hawthorn (Armstrong College A.Sc. 1903, B.Sc. 1904) served as a nurse in the 1^st Northumberland Field Ambulance 1914-15.

Black and white image of nurses and patients on a roof top — Nurses at the 1st Northern General Hospital. This image was taken on the roof of what is now Newcastle University’s Hatton Gallery (Image from Newcastle University Archives: NUA-04-1017-09)

The Wounded Allies Relief Committee

Dr Olivia Nyna Walker (M.B., B.S. 1911) served as Assistant Surgeon at the Hospital Anglais, Lycée de St-Rambert, L’Ile Barbe, Lyon, France. This was a temporary French military hospital which operated 1914-1916 under the direction of the Wounded Allies Relief Committee.

Black and white postcard showing a large building on a hill — Lycée de St-Rambert, date approx. 1870-1918, image kindly provided by the Bibliothèque municipale de Lyon.

Interested in viewing more stories from WWI uncovered by our researchers? You can do so by finding out more information on the Universities at War project. You can also view The University of Durham Roll of Service online.

Crime in the Broadsides – March 2020

Posted on 13 April, 2020 by nspeccoll

At a time when newspapers were taxed, broadsides were vehicles for popular culture which were just affordable by the working class (the average cost of a broadside was a penny, with some ballads costing a ha’penny.) Typically, broadsides were single sheets, printed on one side only. Some communicated public information; many were printed for entertainment. They were ephemeral – cheaply printed for distribution among the lower and middle classes by chapmen, hawkers and street criers, or, for pasting onto walls by way of reaching wider audiences. In the Nineteenth Century, machine-press printing helped to bring about a proliferation of this street literature. It is remarkable that any broadsides have survived and yet almost 850 have been catalogued and digitised from Newcastle University Library’s Special Collections.

One of the many themes to be treated in broadsides, is crime. The end of the Eighteenth Century/beginning of the Nineteenth Century saw increases in both crime and poverty, with the majority of criminal acts being property offences. More goals were being built but there was also a move away from harsh punishment, with transportation replacing execution for some serious crimes and more lenient sentences, with attempts at rehabilitation, replacing harsh sentences for petty crimes. The first police force was introduced in 1829 and there would not be an organised police force until 1856 and so it was that prosecutions were usually brought about by private individuals; usually the victims of the crimes. Prosecution associations were community organizations whose members were citizens that paid dues to cover the costs of private prosecutions. Sometimes, they provided a form of crime insurance. Broadsides 5/1/35 5 Guineas Reward is evidence that these prosecuting associations also covered the costs around soliciting information: printing reward notices and contributing reward money.

Newcastle University Library’s Special Collections has several reward posters that were printed under the auspices of the North Shields and Tynemouth Association for Prosecuting Felons. Like the hanging ballads, these reward posters were formulaic, made use of stock woodcuts and were cheaply printed. They were moralistic, casting criminals as “evil disposed” persons that carried out their deeds “maliciously” even though the crime might have been the theft of food to feed the family.

In this example from 1818, Monkseaton farmer John Crawford has suffered criminal damage to a gate, two ploughs and a railing. He has put up three guineas (roughly £180.90 today) as a reward for information leading to successful prosecution and the prosecution association has increased the reward by two guineas (roughly £120.60 today).

*5 Guineas Reward poster concerning damage to a gate, two ploughs and the theft of railings at the farm of Mr. John Crawford, Monkseaton* (1818) **[Broadsides 5/1/35]**

Calendars of Prisoners, like Broadsides 5/3/1, are lists of prisoners awaiting trail. They are formal documents, typically providing the names, ages, trades and offences of the accused as well as the names of the Magistrates that committed them.

This example lists the prisoners awaiting trial in Newcastle, in August 1825. The prisoners range from Mary Simpson (age 17) who was accused of stealing fabric, pillow cases, books and brooches to Robert Scope (age 80) accused of assault and theft. Some of the printed entries have been annotated by hand to record the verdict after trial. There is also a section for convicts at the end of the document: those prisoners to have been found guilty at trial and which have now been sentenced. They include Mary Ferguson (age 71) who was sentenced to gaol and given four months’ hard labour, such as working the treadmill.

Northumberland. A Calendar of the Prisoners, In the Gaol of our Sovereign Lord the King, in and for the county of Northumberland, for what Crimes, and by whom and when committed, in Order to take their Trials at the next aAsizes, and General Gaol Delivery, to be holden at the Castle of Newcastle upon Tyne, in and for the said County, on Wednesday the Third Day of August, 1825, before the Honourable Sir John Bayley, Knight, one of the Justices assigned to hold Pleas before the King himself; and the Honourable Sir John Hullock, Knight, one of the Barons of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer, at Westminster — Northumberland. A Calendar of the Prisoners, In the Gaol of our Sovereign Lord the King, in and for the county of Northumberland, for what Crimes, and by whom and when committed, in Order to take their Trials at the next aAsizes, and General Gaol Delivery, to be holden at the Castle of Newcastle upon Tyne, in and for the said County, on Wednesday the Third Day of August, 1825, before the Honourable Sir John Bayley, Knight, one of the Justices assigned to hold Pleas before the King himself; and the Honourable Sir John Hullock, Knight, one of the Barons of His Majesty’s Court of Exchequer, at Westminster (1825) **[Broadsides 5/3/1]**

Broadsides 5/2/12 Execution of George Vass, is an example of a hanging ballad, or execution ballad. In the Nineteenth Century, public executions attracted large crowds of spectators and one of the ways in which people experienced public executions was through broadsides and ballads. Hanging ballads would be sung at executions and the ballad sheets sold by the singers. They were formulaic but combined news from local reports with sensational, moralistic accounts of the crimes committed. The audience could expect to learn about the crime, the behaviour of the prisoner, an account of his/her last words, a description of the execution and a warning against leading a similarly criminal life lest the audience end their days at the gallows too.

George Vass was 19 years old when he became the last person to be executed by public hanging in the Carliol Square gaol, Newcastle upon Tyne, at 08:00 on 14^th March 1863. He had been found guilty of the rape and murder of Margaret Docherty on New Year’s Eve 1862. Margaret lies in the cemetery of All Saints Church.

*Execution of George Vass For the Murder of Margaret Docherty, at the West Walls* (1800s) **[Broadsides 5/2/12]**

In the Nineteenth Century, crime was never far from the common people and, through broadsides and other publications, knowledge of criminals and their crimes became well-known; often sensationalized.

You can find many more digitised images from our Broadsides Collection online on CollectionsCaptured.

You can also find out more about another Broadside from a previous Treasure of the Month for A reward poster concerning the breaking into the shop of Messrs Wigham and Prior in the Fish Market, North Shields and subsequent theft of part of a side of bee (1817) on our blog.

Sir John Tenniel – February 2020

Posted on 25 February, 2020 by nspeccoll

28th February 2020 marks 200 years since the birth of the illustrator and political cartoonist, Sir John Tenniel. Although he is best known for his illustrations in Alice in Wonderland, for many years he was also one of the cartoonists for the magazine, Punch. He was knighted for his work in 1893.

Tenniel’s skills in drawing were largely self-taught. He did secure a place at the Royal Academy of Art but left dissatisfied after just a few weeks and joined the Clipstone Street Art Society. Here he studied all aspects of drawing, copying exhibits from the British Museum and wildlife from Regent’s Park. However, he tended to draw from memory rather than from life. He also studied Fresco technique and worked on wood.

Tenniel had exhibited artwork from the age of 16, and his first published illustration was in Hall’s Book of British Ballads in 1842.

Hall, Book of British Ballads (19^th Century Collection 821.04 HAL)

In 1845 Tenniel obtained a commission to paint a fresco in the Upper Waiting Hall in the Houses of Parliament after entering a contest. Part of the commission was to study fresco drawing in Munich with the other successful artists. His entry, a sixteen-foot high cartoon The Spirit of Justice, was noticed by the editor of Punch, Mark Lemon, who offered Tenniel a job as joint cartoonist in 1850.

Tenniel’s first illustration in Punch was published on 8^th February 1851, depicting Lord John Russell and Cardinal Wiseman.

Page from 'Punch', Volume 20 (19th Century Collection 052 PUN) — Page from ‘Punch’, Volume 20 (19th Century Collection 052 PUN)

In 1860, Tenniel became the political cartoonist for Punch and remained working for the publication, as well as illustrating in books until he retired in 1900.

In 1864 Tenniel met Lewis Carroll. It was suggested by his publisher that Carroll used a professional illustrator on his recently written children’s story, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Tenniel supplied 92 illustrations for this, as well as Carroll’s later publication Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There. However, the relationship became strained and Tenniel never undertook literary illustration again.

For all his life John Tenniel lived in London. His poor eyesight as the result of a fencing accident as a child, eventually led to blindness in later years.

His knighthood was a first for an illustrator or cartoonist and brought a respectability to the profession, his legacy, the 2000 images published in Punch and 92 illustrations in Lewis Carroll’s much-loved fairy tale.