Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake was a pioneering surgeon and one of the first British women to enter the world of modern medicine.
23 Facts About Louisa Aldrich-Blake
2.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake graduated in medicine from the Royal Free Hospital in 1893.
3.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake obtained her Master of Surgery degree and was a lead surgeon by 1910.
4.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake was one of the first people to perform surgery on rectal and cervical cancers.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake was born in Chingford, Essex to Rev Frederick James Aldrich-Blake and his wife Louisa Blake Morrison.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake moved with her family to Welsh Bicknor in Herefordshire during her childhood, and maintained a home in the town until her death.
7.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake graduated with first-class honours from the London School of Medicine for Women by 1894 as a Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Medicine and an MD.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake 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.
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The newly qualified Louisa Aldrich-Blake began work at the New Hospital for Women and Children in London.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake worked her way up to become the lead surgeon while working at the city's Royal Free Hospital.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake worked at the Canning Town Women's Settlement Hospital.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake spent multiple holidays aiding the military hospitals in 1914 to 1916, specifically in France with Dr Frances Ivens from the Anglo-French Red Cross Hospital and helped out as a visiting surgeon at the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps Hospital.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake's time was spent contacting other women in the profession to organise volunteer units.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake approached every woman on the Medical Register to ask if they would consider volunteering for the Royal Army Medical Corps, and 48 enrolled, many of whom were sent to Malta.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake was the first to perform operations for cervical and rectal cancers.
16.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake led the British surgeons in taking on the Wertheim operation for carcinoma of the cervix.
17.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake added a piece to the Practitioner's Encyclopedia of Midwifery and Diseases of Women named "Pain as a symptom of pelvic trouble" and a piece on "Abdomino-perineal excision of the rectum by a new method" in the British Medical Journal in 1903.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake held a chair position as a vice-president of the Section of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1924 that was a part of the British Medical Association.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake was devoted to training students at her alma mater, the London School of Medicine for Women.
20.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake became Vice-Dean in 1906 and Dean of the School in 1914.
21.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake died on 28 December 1925 from cancer at home in Welsh Bicknor, having undergone several operations during previous weeks.
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Louisa Aldrich-Blake's career was highlighted in a 2015 exhibit specifically related to her actions in the First World War where she performed surgery on the front line and encouraged other women to join the field.
23.
Louisa Aldrich-Blake influenced the War Office to allow women to enlist to be a part of the medical staff.