The story behind Kinloch Anderson’s support for a statue in Edinburgh in honour of Elsie Inglis.
On the centenary of her death, a campaign was launched to honour Inglis in her home city. A statue is planned to be designed and erected on the Royal Mile, Edinburgh as a lasting tribute to a woman who gave generously and bravely throughout her life.
Utterly determined and remarkably persistent, Elsie Inglis led an exceptional life as a pioneer in the field of medicine.
Dissatisfied with the level of care afforded to women in Edinburgh in the early 1900s, Inglis, a qualified surgeon and lecturer, campaigned alongside the suffrage movement for the recognition of women’s health concerns.
So under-resourced were the health services, yet so great was the need in Edinburgh that Inglis, ever devoted to her patients, was known to waive fees for those who could not afford the much-needed care. Admirably, Inglis would sometimes even cover the costs for her patients to recover by the Scottish seaside.
With the outbreak of war in 1914, Inglis, then in her fifties, sought new opportunities to serve and care. Despite being impeded by Allied governments and officials, ‘The Chief’ as she became known, fought to establish ready-made relief hospitals staffed completely by women and funded by the women’s suffrage movement.
When the War Office was offered these hospitals, Inglis faced disparaging responses. "My good lady, go home and sit still.” She was told. Being the formidable physician that she was, Inglis did not sit still despite the rebuff. Eventually, it was the French government that accepted Inglis’ offer, and a relief hospital unlike any other was established in France.
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As a medical visionary, Inglis oversaw all aspects of the Scottish Women’s Hospitals (SWH), as they became known. Even the uniforms – hodden grey jackets with Gordon tartan facings – were specified by Inglis. Both practical and patriotic, one of these uniforms is now part of a collection of relics relating to the doctor that can be found in the Imperial War Museum, London.
In partnership with the appeal, Kinloch Anderson gladly responded to the request from fundraisers to supply Gordon tartan ribbon badges for the supporter of the project – a nod to Inglis who is often depicted in her brimmed hat trimmed with Gordon tartan. The company is also donating an auction prize of a made-to-measure skirt in the tartan of the winner’s choice.
For more information on fundraising for Inglis’ statue, visit www.elsieinglis.org.
To own a piece of your own Gordon tartan, browse our collection here: https://www.kinlochanderson.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=gordon.
* Balfour, Lady Francis, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
** Ethel Moir, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons