Dame Albertine Louisa Winner (4 March 1907 – 13 May 1988) was a British physician and medical administrator. After graduating from University College Hospital Medical School, Winner practised at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, and

Maida Vale Hospital for Nervous Diseases The Maida Vale Hospital for Nervous Diseases was a hospital that existed in west London from 1867 to 1993. History The hospital was founded as the London Infirmary for Epilepsy and Paralysis by the German physician Julius Althaus (1833-1900) in 1 ...

. During the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

, she enlisted in 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 ...

, where she later served as the consultant to the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 Februa ...

. After the war, Winner served in the Department of Health as its first female deputy chief medical officer. In later life, she worked with

Cicely Saunders Dame Cicely Mary Strode Saunders (22 June 1918 – 14 July 2005) was an English nurse, social worker, physician and writer. She is noted for her work in terminal care research and her role in the birth of the hospice movement, emphasising the i ...

in forming the first modern hospice at

St Christopher's Hospice St. Christopher's Hospice is a hospice in south London, England, established in 1967 by Cicely Saunders, whose work is considered the basis of modern hospice philosophy. Legacy Among the first staff at St. Christopher's was Florence Wald, who t ...

in Sydenham, London. In 1967, Winner was appointed as

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(DBE). Winner was also elected as 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 ...

in 1971. She died on 13 May 1988 in London.

Early life and education

Albertine Louisa Winner, an only child, was born in Coulsdon, London to Isidore Wiener and Annie Stonex. Her father was a Dutch-Jewish hide merchant from

Venlo Venlo () is a city and municipality in the southeastern Netherlands, close to the border with Germany. It is situated in the province of Limburg, about 50 km east of the city of Eindhoven, 65 km north east of the provincial capital Maastricht, a ...

, Limburg, and her mother was British. In 1918, Isidore changed the family surname to Winner. She was privately educated at the

Francis Holland School Francis Holland School is the name of two separate private day schools for girls in central London, England, governed by the Francis Holland ( Church of England) Schools Trust. The schools are located at Clarence Gate (near Regent's Park NW1) ...

, a girls' school at Clarence Gate in London. During her time there she was elected as head girl. Winner gained a Bachelor of Science

Honours degree Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, or ...

in physiology from

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. She also played for the university's tennis team. Winner then studied medicine at the University College Hospital Medical School, graduating in 1933 with the University of London Gold Medal. She was the first female student to win the medal. She followed this with an MD in 1934, and the next year she became a Member of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the United Kingdom (MRCP).

Career

Physician and administrator

After qualifying, Winner worked at the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, the Mothers' Hospital in Clapton, and the

. She developed an interest in

neurology Neurology (from el, νεῦρον (neûron), "string, nerve" and the suffix -logia, "study of") is the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of conditions and disease involving the brain, the spinal ...

through the guidance of Sir Francis Walshe. Another important mentor early in her career was

Sir Thomas Lewis Sir Thomas Lewis, CBE, FRS, FRCP (26 December 1881 – 17 March 1945) was a British cardiologist (although he personally disliked the term, preferring cardiovascular disease specialist). He coined the term "clinical science".Biography, ''Oxfor ...

. In 1940, during the

, she joined the

(RAMC), where she was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel. Winner was the Assistant Medical Director-General and the chief woman doctor of the

(ATS). She was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(OBE) in the

1946 New Year Honours The 1946 New Year Honours were appointments by many of the Commonwealth Realms of King George VI to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries, and to celebrate the passing of 1945 and the beginnin ...

for her wartime service. Winner also later served as the honorary consultant to the ATS from 1946 to 1970. After the end of the war and on the eve of the emergence of the

National Health Service The National Health Service (NHS) is the umbrella term for the publicly funded healthcare systems of the United Kingdom (UK). Since 1948, they have been funded out of general taxation. There are three systems which are referred to using the " ...

, Winner joined the Department of Health in 1947 as its first female deputy chief medical officer, a position she would serve in for the next twenty years. Throughout her career, she was interested in the treatment of the chronically sick, as well as a general interest in the welfare of patients. In 1959, she became a fellow 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 ...

. Between 1965 and 1968, she was an honorary physician to the Queen. In the

1967 New Year Honours Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, Winner was appointed as

(DBE). She was also appointed as the Linacre Fellow of the

, a position she held from 1967 to 1978. While serving in the position, Winner played a key role in developing postgraduate medical training posts for the Joint Committee on Higher Medical Training.

Later career and the hospice movement

After retiring from the medical profession in 1967,

asked for her financial assistance in establishing the first modern hospice. Winner was initially apprehensive but soon saw its importance and helped establish

in Sydenham, London, and she supervised its construction served as its deputy medical director when it opened in 1967. She provided guidance based upon her interest in patients' welfare and clinical experience. She utilised her interest and experience treating neurological disorders to develop palliative treatment of

motor neuron disease Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most comm ...

. Winner later became its chairman in 1973, and president in 1985. She was also on the council of the charity Disabled Living Foundation, vice-president of the Medical Defence Union, served as the president of the

between 1971 and 1972 and became a fellow of the Faculty of Community Medicine (now

Faculty of Public Health 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 training ...

) in 1974.

Personal life

Interested in art, she collected valuable Japanese prints. Her other interests included travel, sport, and opera. She considered herself a "sympathetic agnostic" when she joined the Christian foundation of St Christopher's. In her later years, she returned to the Jewish faith of her father. She died on 13 May 1988 at the Lancaster Lodge nursing home in Wimbledon, London at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winner, Albertine

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

Alumni of the UCL Medical School 1907 births 1988 deaths Royal Army Medical Corps officers People educated at Francis Holland School Dames Commander of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal College of Physicians Presidents of the Medical Women's Federation English people of Dutch-Jewish descent Fellows of the Faculty of Public Health