Flora Murray (8 May 1869 – 28 July 1923)
[Flora Murray](_blank)
findagrave.com was a Scottish medical pioneer, and a member of the
Women's Social and Political Union
The Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) was a women-only political movement and leading militant organisation campaigning for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom from 1903 to 1918. Known from 1906 as the suffragettes, its membership and ...
suffragettes
A suffragette was a member of an activist women's organisation in the early 20th century who, under the banner "Votes for Women", fought for the right to vote in public elections in the United Kingdom. The term refers in particular to members ...
. From 1914 to the end of her life, she lived with her partner and fellow doctor
Louisa Garrett Anderson
Louisa Garrett Anderson, CBE (28 July 1873 – 15 November 1943) was a medical pioneer, a member of the Women's Social and Political Union, a suffragette, and social reformer. She was the daughter of the founding medical pioneer Elizabeth Gar ...
.
Early life and education
Murray was born on 8 May 1869 at Murraythwaite,
Dumfries
Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...
, Scotland, the daughter of Grace Harriet Murray (née Graham) and John Murray, a
landowner and
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
captain. Murray was the fourth of six children.
Murray attended school in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and London before attending the London Hospital in Whitechapel in 1890, as a probationer nurse, for a six-month course. Murray decided on her career in medicine and went on to study in the
London School of Medicine for Women
The London School of Medicine for Women (LSMW) established in 1874 was the first medical school in Britain to train women as doctors. The patrons, vice-presidents, and members of the committee that supported and helped found the London School of Me ...
in 1897.
She then worked as a Medical assistant for 18 months at an asylum at the
Crichton Royal Institution in
Dumfriesshire
Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county.
I ...
. This experience was crucial in her writing of her MD thesis called 'Asylum Organization and Management' (1905).
She completed her medical education at
Durham University
, mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1)
, established = (university status)
, type = Public
, academic_staff = 1,830 (2020)
, administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19)
, chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen
, vice_chan ...
, receiving her MB BSc in 1903, and
MD in 1905. She received a Diploma in Public Health from the
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
in 1906.
During her time in Scotland, Murray lived in Edinburgh with Dr
Elsie Inglis
Eliza Maud "Elsie" Inglis (16 August 1864 – 26 November 1917) was a Scottish doctor, surgeon, teacher, Women's suffrage, suffragist, and founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service, Scottish Women's Hospitals. She was the ...
, founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals movement.
Historians such as Hamer and Jennings have argued that Murray had her "first serious lesbian relationship" with Elsie Inglis.
Career
Physician
In 1905 Murray was a medical officer at the
Belgrave Hospital for Children
The Belgrave Hospital for Children in Kennington, London, United Kingdom was a voluntary hospital founded in Pimlico, London in 1866. A new hospital building was constructed between 1899 and 1926 at 1 Clapham Road#London, Clapham Road from a desi ...
in London and then an
anaesthetist
Anesthesiology, anaesthesiology, or anaesthesia is the medical specialty concerned with the total perioperative care of patients before, during and after surgery. It encompasses anesthesia, intensive care medicine, critical emergency medicine ...
at the
Chelsea Hospital for Women
Queen Charlotte's and Chelsea Hospital is one of the oldest maternity hospitals in Europe, founded in 1739 in London. Until October 2000, it occupied a site at 339–351 Goldhawk Road, Hammersmith, but is now located between East Acton and White ...
. In 1905 ''
The Lancet
''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823.
The journal publishes original research articles, ...
'' published an article that she authored on the use of anaesthetic in children, titled ''Ethyl chloride as an anaesthetic for children''.
Suffragette
Murray's hand in women's suffrage first started when she became a participant and activist of
Millicent Fawcett
Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett (née Garrett; 11 June 1847 – 5 August 1929) was an English politician, writer and feminist. She campaigned for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, women's suffrage by Law reform, legal change and in 1897– ...
's
National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies
The National Union of Women Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), also known as the ''suffragists'' (not to be confused with the suffragettes) was an organisation founded in 1897 of women's suffrage societies around the United Kingdom. In 1919 it was ren ...
. She then continued her work in women's suffrage as a supporter of Women's Social and Political Union. She also became a consistent participant in the militant movement, offering her services as a practitioner including at the
Pembroke Gardens nursing home for suffragettes recovering from force-feeding, run by Nurses
Catherine Pine and
Gertrude Townend.
She took a leadership role and showed her value as an activist by speaking at public gatherings, becoming a member in the 1911 census protest, and using her medical knowledge and skill to treat her fellow suffragettes who experienced injuries through their work as activists.
She looked after
Emmeline Pankhurst
Emmeline Pankhurst ('' née'' Goulden; 15 July 1858 – 14 June 1928) was an English political activist who organised the UK suffragette movement and helped women win the right to vote. In 1999, ''Time'' named her as one of the 100 Most Impo ...
and other hunger-strikers after their release from prison and campaigned with other doctors against the
forcible feeding of prisoners.
Women's Hospital for Children
Dr Flora Murray discharges patients, Endell Street c. 1915
In 1912 she founded the Women's Hospital for Children at 688
Harrow Road
The Harrow Road is an ancient route in North West London which runs from Paddington in a northwesterly direction towards Harrow. It is also the name given to the immediate surrounding area of Queens Park and Kensal Green, straddling the NW10 ...
with
Louisa Garrett Anderson
Louisa Garrett Anderson, CBE (28 July 1873 – 15 November 1943) was a medical pioneer, a member of the Women's Social and Political Union, a suffragette, and social reformer. She was the daughter of the founding medical pioneer Elizabeth Gar ...
. It provided
health care
Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health profe ...
for
working-class
The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colou ...
children of the area, and gave women doctors their only opportunity to gain clinical experience in paediatrics in London; the hospital's motto was ''Deeds not Words''.
World War I
When the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
broke out, Murray and her partner Dr Louisa Garrett Anderson founded the Women's Hospital Corps (WHC), and recruited women to staff it. Believing that the British War Office would reject their offer of help, and knowing that the French were in need of medical assistance, they offered their assistance to the French Red Cross.
The French accepted their offer and provided them the space of a newly built hotel in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
as their hospital.
Flora Murray was appointed ''Médecin-en-Chef'' (chief physician) and Anderson became the chief surgeon.
Murray reported in her diary that visiting representatives of the British War Office were astonished to find a hospital run successfully by British women, and the hospital was soon treated as a British auxiliary hospital rather than a French one.
In addition to the hospital in Paris, the Women's Hospital Corps also ran another military hospital in
Wimereux
Wimereux (; vls, Wimeruwe) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
Geography
Wimereux is a coastal town situated some north of Boulogne, at the junction of the D233 and the D940 roads, on the b ...
.
In January 1915, casualties began to be evacuated to England for treatment. The War Office invited Murray and Anderson to return to London to run a large hospital, the
Endell Street Military Hospital (ESMH), under the
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. The RAMC, the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, the Royal Army Dental Corps a ...
. ESMH treated almost 50,000 soldiers between May 1915 and September 1919 when it closed.
After the war ended, Murray returned to Harrow Road hospital which was renamed Roll of Honour Hospital, where she continued her work as a private practitioner. Her diary about her experiences of the War became a book titled ''Women as Army Surgeons: Being the History of the Women's Hospital Corps in Paris'' (1920)''.'' The book's dedication reads, "To Louisa Garrett Anderson / Bold, cautious, true and my loving companion."
![The Times History and Encyclopaedia of the w Wellcome L0026139](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/92/The_Times_History_and_Encyclopaedia_of_the_w_Wellcome_L0026139.jpg)
Lack of funding eventually led to the closure of the Roll of Honour Hospital, and also the retirement of both Murray and Anderson. They moved to a cottage in Paul End, in
Penn,
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
.
Death
Murray suffered from
cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
and died on 28 July 1923, aged 54. Her death occurred shortly after her surgery in a nursing home in
Hampstead, London
Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the London Borough ...
. Her lifelong partner was by her side.
Murray left everything to Anderson in her will. Murray is buried at the Holy Trinity Church at
Penn, Buckinghamshire
Penn is a village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of Beaconsfield and east of High Wycombe. The parish's cover Penn village and the hamlets of Penn Street, Knotty Green, Forty Green, Penn, Forty Green and Winchm ...
, near the couple's former home. While Anderson was later cremated and her ashes scattered over the South Downs, a shared tombstone memorialises both women.
To the dear love of comrades and in memory of
Flora Murray
CBE, MD, BS Durham, DPH. Cambridge
Daughter of Com John Murray RN
Murraythwaite, Dumfriesshire
Born 8 May 1869
Died 26 July 1923
She commanded the military hospital Endall Street London with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel RAMC 1915 -1919
God gave her the strength to lead, to pity and to heal
And of her friend
Louisa Garrett Anderson
C.B.E., M.D., Chief Surgeon Women's Hospital Corps 1914–1919
Daughter of James George Skelton Anderson and Elizabeth Garrett Anderson of Aldeburgh, Suffolk.
Born 28 July 1873
Died 15 November 1943
WE HAVE BEEN GLORIOUSLY HAPPY
Commemorations
In April 2022, it was announced that Murray would appear on the 'reverse side' of the new polymer
£100 banknote
A banknote—also called a bill (North American English), paper money, or simply a note—is a type of negotiable instrument, negotiable promissory note, made by a bank or other licensed authority, payable to the bearer on demand.
Banknotes w ...
to be issued by
Bank of Scotland
The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial and clearing bank based in Scotland and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group, following the Bank of Scotland's implosion in 2008. The bank was established by th ...
to highlight her work in medicine and in women's rights. The note will feature a portrait of Murray by
Francis Dodd. The chief executive of the
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust (formerly the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust) is an NHS foundation trust based in London, United Kingdom. It comprises Royal Free Hospital, Barnet Hospital, Chase Farm Hospital, as well as clinics run ...
noted that "Almost a century since her death, Flora's story is a reminder of the huge debt of gratitude we owe to those early agitators who refused to accept the limitations imposed by a society that didn't believe women could or should be doctors, physicians and surgeons. “Then and now, we embrace the pioneers, the innovators, and the game-changers."
See also
*
History of feminism
The history of feminism comprises the narratives (chronological or thematic) of the movements and ideologies which have aimed at equal rights for women. While feminists around the world have differed in causes, goals, and intentions depending ...
*
List of suffragists and suffragettes
This list of suffragists and suffragettes includes noted individuals active in the worldwide women's suffrage movement who have campaigned or strongly advocated for women's suffrage, the organisations which they formed or joined, and the public ...
References
External links
Women in the Great War – Women's Organisations in the British ArmyWellcome Library – Military Hospital at Endell Street
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Flora
1869 births
1923 deaths
20th-century women physicians
20th-century Scottish medical doctors
Scottish suffragists
People from Dumfries
Scottish women medical doctors
Alumni of the London School of Medicine for Women
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
LGBT physicians
Scottish LGBT people
LGBT feminists
Women in medicine
20th-century Scottish women
Alumni of Durham University College of Medicine