Dr Dame Rosemary Rue, DBE, FRCP,

FFPHM The Faculty of Public Health (FPH) is a public health association in the United Kingdom established as a registered charity. It is the standard setting body for public health specialists within the United Kingdom, setting standards for trainin ...

FRCPsych The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, and is responsible for representing psychiatrists, for psychiatric research and for providing public information about mental health ...

FRCGP The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) is the professional body for general practitioners, general (medical) practitioners (GPs/Family Physicians/Primary care physician, Primary Care Physicians) in the United Kingdom. The RCGP represe ...

FRCS Fellowship of the Royal Colleges of Surgeons (FRCS) is a professional qualification to practise as a senior surgeon in Ireland or the United Kingdom. It is bestowed on an intercollegiate basis by the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons (the Royal C ...

(14 June 1928 – 24 December 2004) was a British physician and civil servant, most notable as the one-time regional general manager/medical officer of the Oxford Regional Health Authority. She was also: * President of the

Medical Women's Federation The Medical Women's Federation is the largest UK body of women doctors. The organisation is dedicated to the advancement of the personal and professional development of women in medicine and to improving the health of women and their families i ...

(1982–1983) * President of the Faculty of Community Medicine of the

Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians (RCP) is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of physicians by examination. Founded by royal charter from King Henry VIII in 1 ...

(1986–1989) * President of the

British Medical Association The British Medical Association (BMA) is a registered trade union for doctors in the United Kingdom. The association does not regulate or certify doctors, a responsibility which lies with the General Medical Council. The association's headquar ...

(1990–1991) * Founding Fellow of

Green College, Oxford Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college is located on the previous Green College site on Woodstock Road next to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford and ...

* Awarded the

Edward Jenner Medal The Edward Jenner Medal is awarded occasionally by the Royal Society of Medicine to individuals who have undertaken distinguished work in epidemiological research. The award was founded in 1896 by the Epidemiological Society of London (1850–190 ...

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’ chambers ...

(2001)

Background

Elsie Rosemary Laurence was born in 1928 in

Hutton, Essex Hutton is an area of Brentwood, Essex, Brentwood and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Brentwood, in south Essex, England. It has good links to Central London (around to the south west) via Shenfield train station which is just ...

in England and moved with her family to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1933. She was evacuated in 1940 during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

to stay with relatives in

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

shire, where she contracted

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and

peritonitis Peritonitis is inflammation of the localized or generalized peritoneum, the lining of the inner wall of the abdomen and cover of the abdominal organs. Symptoms may include severe pain, swelling of the abdomen, fever, or weight loss. One part or ...

. It was while she was convalescing that she decided on a career in medicine, entering the all-woman Royal Free Medical School in London in 1945. In 1950 she married Roger Rue, a pilot instructor of Belgian descent in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

. When she told the medical school dean that she was changing her name, she was told that she could not stay at the school if she was married. She was instead accepted at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, qualifying in 1951 after taking the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

exams. Her first job was at an extended-care hospital in Oxford. She did not tell her employers that she had a husband or a newborn son, as many hospitals then didn't employ married women. She was eventually sacked when her employers learned she was married with children. In 1954, she contracted

polio Poliomyelitis, commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 70% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe s ...

from a patient, becoming the last person in Oxford to get it. Polio gave her the major, lifelong disability of having one bad leg. This left her unable to walk, even with crutches, or perform basic tasks such as carrying a medical bag. She spent time teaching at girls' schools. Unable to walk up front steps for interviews, she had to turn down several medical jobs. New hospitals were constructed in

Swindon Swindon () is a town and unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Wiltshire, England. As of the 2021 Census, the population of Swindon was 201,669, making it the largest town in the county. The Swindon un ...

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, with basic modules that could be incorporated into every hospital. In 1960, she was named Assistant County Medical Officer for

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

and worked as a part-time paediatrician in

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...

. She spent an academic term at the Institute of Child Health in London. In 1965, she was offered the job of Senior Assistant Medical Officer for the Oxford region, running that region's health authority. In the early 1960s new money was allocated by the government to rebuild the crumbling medical system in the UK. Dr Rue ensured that Oxford got a fair share.

Later positions

In 1972 she became one of the founders of the Faculty of Community Health (now the Faculty of Public Health), which brought together academic bodies such as the

London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) is a public research university in Bloomsbury, central London, and a member institution of the University of London that specialises in public health and tropical medicine. The inst ...

, community health doctors, and organisations such as the

Public Health Laboratory Service In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

(PHLS). She served as the PHLS Regional Medical Officer from 1973 to 1984, and Regional General Manager from 1984 to 1988. She became Dame of the British Empire in 1989.

Death

In her last few years, Dame Rosemary continued to take an active interest in health service matters, despite both breast and colon cancer. She died, aged 76, at her cottage in

Stanton St John Stanton St. John is a village and civil parish in Oxfordshire about northeast of the centre of Oxford. The village is above sea level on the eastern brow of a group of hills northeast of Oxford, in a slight saddle between two of the hills. Ar ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

Christmas Eve Christmas Eve is the evening or entire day before Christmas Day, the festival commemorating the birth of Jesus. Christmas Day is observed around the world, and Christmas Eve is widely observed as a full or partial holiday in anticipation ...

2004, aged 76. She was survived by her two sons.Biography
livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk; accessed 26 October 2015.

References

External links

*
''British Medical Journal'' obituary for Dr Dame Rosemary Rue

''Oxford Medical Files'' obituary for Dr Dame Rosemary Rue

Watch a video oral history interview with Dr Dame Rosemary Rue
- recorded by Oxford Brookes University in partnership with the Royal College of Physicians as part of th
Medical Sciences Video Archive.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rue, Rosemary 1928 births 2004 deaths People from Hutton, Essex Medical doctors from London Alumni of the UCL Medical School Alumni of the University of London Alumni of the University of Oxford English women medical doctors Fellows of Green Templeton College, Oxford Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Fellows of the Royal College of Surgeons of England Fellows of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Fellows of the Royal College of General Practitioners 20th-century English medical doctors Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from breast cancer in the United Kingdom Deaths from colorectal cancer Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Administrators in the National Health Service Presidents of the Medical Women's Federation 20th-century women physicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people