Jessie Ann Scott (9 August 1883 – 15 August 1959) was a New Zealand medical doctor, medical officer and prisoner of war.

Early life

Jessie Scott was born in

Brookside Brookside may refer to: Geography Canada * Brookside, Edmonton * Brookside, Newfoundland and Labrador * Brookside, Nova Scotia United Kingdom * Brookside, Berkshire, England * Brookside, Telford, an area of Telford, England United States * Br ...

North Canterbury Canterbury ( mi, Waitaha) is a region of New Zealand, located in the central-eastern South Island. The region covers an area of , making it the largest region in the country by area. It is home to a population of The region in its current fo ...

, New Zealand, in 1883 and attended

Christchurch Girls' High School Christchurch Girls' High School in Christchurch, New Zealand, was established in 1877 and is the second oldest girls-only secondary school in the country, after Otago Girls' High School. History Christchurch Girls' High School was established i ...

. She studied medicine at the University of Edinburgh, graduating MB ChB in 1909 and MD in 1912.

Career

Scott remained in Edinburgh after her training and worked as the resident medical officer at the Edinburgh Hospital for Women and Children. During this time, she was a guest speaker, along 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 ...

Chrystal MacMillan Jessie Chrystal Macmillan (13 June 1872 – 21 September 1937) was a suffragist, peace activist, barrister, feminist and the first female science graduate from the University of Edinburgh as well as that institution's first female honours gradu ...

and Alice Low, at an NUWSS meeting in Edinburgh's Café Oak Hall. She then became assistant medical officer to the London County Council for three years from 1910 to 1913. During this time she completed her MD thesis in public health. She returned to New Zealand in 1913 and practiced in Auckland. In

World War I 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 ...

she returned to the United Kingdom and volunteered for the

Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr. Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and ...

a unit staffed by women. She served in Serbia, where she was captured by the Austrians and kept a prisoner of war for four months, and later became a medical officer with the Serbian Army. Later in the war she worked with 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 ...

in Salonika and France. For her service in Serbia she was awarded the

Order of St Sava The Royal Order of St. Sava is an Order of merit, first awarded by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1883 and later by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It was awarded to nationals and foreigners for meritorious ach ...

4th class by the Serbian government. After the war, Scott returned to London in 1920 where she did postgraduate work in gynaecology and paediatrics at the Chelsea Hospital for Women and the Victoria Hospital for Children, and worked for the London County Council as a medical officer. In 1924 she returned to Christchurch where she worked as an obstetrician and gynaecologist in the public hospital. After being frustrated by obstructions from male colleagues she went into private practice. Scott served on many organisations including the National Council of Women, the Federation of University Women, and the Women's War Service Auxiliary during World War Two. She became one of two vice-presidents of the Christchurch Branch of the New Zealand Medical Women's Association in 1954. She gave the first medical presentation to the branch on her experiences during World War One in the Scottish Medical Women's Hospital in Serbia. Jessie Scott died in August 1959 in Christchurch.

References

External links

Jessie Anne Scott
Auckland Museum Online Cenotap
Great War Stories 4: Dr Jessie Scott.
(2017) NZ OnScree

New Zealand Army Nursing Service - Royal New Zealand Nursing Corps
WWI: The NZ Female Doctor who became a POW.
Video on

Newsroom A newsroom is the central place where journalists—reporters, editors, and producers, associate producers, news anchors, news designers, photojournalists, videojournalists, associate editor, residence editor, visual text editor, Desk Head, s ...

, 25 April 2022 {{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Jessie Ann 1883 births 1959 deaths New Zealand women medical doctors New Zealand prisoners of war in World War I New Zealand military personnel of World War I People from North Canterbury New Zealand military doctors Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Medical School World War I prisoners of war held by Austria-Hungary 20th-century New Zealand medical doctors 20th-century women physicians People educated at Christchurch Girls' High School

Early life

Career

See also

References

External links