Louisa Martindale, (30 October 1872 – 5 February 1966) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

physician, surgeon, and writer. She also served as magistrate on the Brighton bench, was a prison commissioner and a member of the National Council of Women. She served with the

Scottish Women's Hospitals 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 ...

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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 ...

, and as a surgeon in London in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Through her writings she promoted medicine as a career for women.

Early life

Louisa Martindale was born in

Leytonstone Leytonstone () is an area in east London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest, a local authority district of Greater London. It adjoins Wanstead to the north-east, Forest Gate to the south-east, ...

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, the first child of William Martindale (c. 1832–1874) and his second wife Louisa, née Spicer (1839–1914). The family had a Congregational Church background. Her mother, "a champion of a larger life for women", was an active

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and a member of the

Women's Liberal Federation The Women's Liberal Federation was an organisation that was part of the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom. History The Women's Liberal Federation (WLF) was formed on the initiative of Sophia Fry, who in 1886 called a meeting at her house of fi ...

, and of the executive committee of the

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 ...

. In the 1880s, Mrs. Martindale held open house for Brighton shop girls on a regular basis, and young Louisa would have grown up in an environment supportive of her future career. After the death of William Martindale the family moved to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, and thence to

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 Switzerland, finally returning to England to live in Lewes, East Sussex. In 1885 the family moved again, this time to Brighton so that Louisa and her sister

Hilda Hilda is one of several female given names derived from the name ''Hild'', formed from Old Norse , meaning 'battle'. Hild, a Nordic-German Bellona, was a Valkyrie who conveyed fallen warriors to Valhalla. Warfare was often called Hild's Game. Th ...

could attend Brighton High School for Girls (now Brighton Girls). From an early age it had been decided that Louisa should become a doctor, and at 17 she was sent to Royal Holloway, University of London in

Egham Egham ( ) is a university town in the Borough of Runnymede in Surrey, England, approximately west of central London. First settled in the Bronze Age, the town was under the control of Chertsey Abbey for much of the Middle Ages. In 1215, Magna ...

and obtained her London Matriculation in 1892. She then entered 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 1893, gaining her MB in 1899, and her BS. In 1900 she went north to Hull as an assistant to Dr. Mary Murdoch, the beginning of her professional life. Murdoch and Martindale worked closely as they were partners in their business. In 1902 they went on a cycling holiday together visiting Vienna, Berlin and Switzerland. They were in partnership until 1906.

Professional life

After five years in Hull, in 1906 Martindale gained her

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

and returned to Brighton. She started her own general practice and very soon was asked to join the Lewes Road Dispensary for Women and Children (which in 1911 became the Lady Chichester Hospital, Brighton Branch) as a visiting medical officer. In 1920 she was instrumental in the setting up of the New Sussex Hospital for Women in Windlesham Road, Brighton, and held the post of senior Surgeon and Physician there until 1937. She left Brighton and Hove in 1922, moving to London to start a Surgical Consultant Practice but continued to operate part-time at the New Sussex Hospital. After moving to London as a Consultant Surgeon, Louisa soon became known as honorary surgeon at the Marie Curie Hospital. In 1931, Martindale was elected as President of the Medical Women's Federation. She was appointed C.B.E. that same year. Two years later, she was elected a Fellow of the

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) is a professional association based in London, United Kingdom. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that ...

. In 1937, Martindale was appointed to the Council of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as the first woman member in history. Martindale's medical interests were sometimes controversial, especially her studies of

venereal disease Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are Transmission (medicine), spread by Human sexual activity, sexual activity, especi ...

and prostitution. Her book ''Under the Surface'' (1909), in which she spoke quite openly about these very topics, apparently caused a stir in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. She also laid the groundwork for research in the treatment of uterine cancer and fibroid growths in women by means of intensive X-ray therapy. She secured a long and distinguished life and career in medicine, carrying out over 7000 operations. Her work brought her respect and acknowledgment from both her colleagues and her patients: she was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians in 1933, and was a member of the

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society in the United Kingdom, headquartered in London. History The Society was established in 1805 as Medical and Chirurgical Society of London, meeting in two rooms in barristers’ chamber ...

. Eventually she became a specialist in the early treatment of cervical cancer by

X-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

and she later lectured extensively throughout the UK, the United States, and Germany. In November 2022 the ne
£483 million building
at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton, East Sussex was named after Louisa Martindale. It will be home to over 30 wards and departments and be kitted with state-of-the-art facilities.

Personal life

An active member of the Brighton Women's Franchise Society, she also served as Magistrate for many years on the Brighton bench, became President of the Medical Women's Federation in 1931, was a Prison Commissioner and a member of the National Council of Women. She served with the Scottish Women's Hospitals at

, and as a surgeon in London in

. Martindale never married and lived for more than three decades with another woman, Ismay FitzGerald (c. 1875–1946), daughter of Baron FitzGerald of Kilmarnock. Some scholars are wary of identifying Martindale as a lesbian. Geoffrey Walford, for instance, does not state whether Martindale's "woman-centered lifestyle" specifically entailed a lesbian relationship. Others are more explicit and unhesitatingly propose Martindale's lesbianism, referring for instance to her 1951 autobiography ''A Woman Surgeon'', in which she writes quite openly and tenderly (though without giving explicit detail) about her love for FitzGerald. Quoted from ''A Woman Surgeon'', pg. 228, in Hamer pg. 142

Death

Martindale retired from practice in 1947. She died in her home in London on 5 February 1966, aged 93.

Works by Louisa Martindale

*''Under the Surface''. Brighton: Southern Publishing Company, 1909. *''The Treatment of Thirty-Seven Cases of Uterine Fibromyomata by Intensive X-Ray Therapy''. 1920. *''The Women Doctor and Her Future''. London: Mills and Boon, 1922. Available online a
Internet Archives
*''Menorrhagia Treated by Intensive X-Ray Therapy.'' 1923. *''Treatment of Cancer of the Breast''. 1945. *''The Artificial Menopause''. 1945. *''The Prevention of Venereal Disease''. London: Research Books, 1945. *''Venereal Disease, Its Influence on the Health of the Nation, Its Cure and Prevention''. 1948. *''A Woman Surgeon''. London: Gollancz, 1951.

References

Sources

*Brown, Val. ''Women's Hospitals in Brighton and Hove''. Hastings: Hastings Press, 2006. *Delamont, Sara
"Martindale, Louisa (1872–1966)".
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2004. *LSMW Archive material at the Royal Free Hospital Archive. * Martindale, Hilda. ''From One Generation to Another: A Book of Memoirs, 1839-1944''. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1944. *Wojtczak, Helena. ''Notable Sussex Women''. Hastings: Hastings Press, 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Martindale, Louisa 1872 births 1966 deaths English surgeons Commanders of the Order of the British Empire LGBT physicians English LGBT people People from Leytonstone English women medical doctors Alumni of the London School of Medicine for Women 20th-century women scientists Presidents of the Medical Women's Federation Women surgeons English justices of the peace Alumni of Royal Holloway, University of London 20th-century English women 20th-century English people