Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake - Tavistock Square, London, UK
Posted by: 
Dragontree
N 51° 31.468 W 000° 07.687
30U E 699219 N 5712060
Quick Description: This monument and bust stands in the corner of Tavistock Square.
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 11/18/2009 4:47:38 AM
Waymark Code: WM7PGD
Views: 1
Long Description:This is a monument to a very special female surgeon as described on
Wikipedia: ("http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louisa_Aldrich-Blake"
target="_blank">visit link)
'Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake MS MD DBE (1865 – 1925) was
one of the first British women to enter the world of medicine.
Born in Chingford, Essex, the daughter of a rector, she moved
with her family to Welsh Bicknor. She graduated from the Royal Free
Hospital School of Medicine for Women in 1893. She went on to take
the University of London's higher degrees in Medicine and Surgery,
becoming the first British woman to obtain the degree of Master of
Surgery. Throughout her career, Dr. Aldrich-Blake was associated
with the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, becoming senior
surgeon in 1910.
Career
At the Royal Free Hospital, she was the first woman to hold the
post of surgical registrar and also acted as an anaesthetist.
During the years of the First World War, many of the male surgical
staff of the Royal Free went on foreign active service and Dr
Aldrich-Blake took on increased responsibility for the surgery,
becoming consulting surgeon to the hospital. She was the first to
perform operations for cancers of the cervix and rectum.
Academia
Aldrich-Blake was devoted to training students of the Royal Free
Hospital's School of Medicine for Women, her own alma mater. She
became Dean of the School in 1914.
Damehood
In the 1924 New Year's Honours List, she was made a Dame Commander
of the Order of the British Empire.
Death
Dame Louisa Aldrich-Blake died in 1925 from undisclosed causes.
Legacy
The Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake Collection is located in
the Royal Free Hospital's Archives Centre.'