Former Elgin nurse Jenny Main pens book about formidable reformer Ethel Gordon Fenwick
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The story of a Moray-born woman whose actions have possibly saved more lives than any other nurse in history is now available to read.
Ethel Gordon Fenwick, who was born at Spynie House near Elgin in 1857, was the driving force behind the first ever nursing register.
Up until that point the profession was full of enthusiastic amateurs who due to their lack of training sometimes did more harm than good.
Ethel's biography has been written by Elgin resident Jenny Main, a former nurse at Dr Gray's Hospital and a long time admirer of her redoubtable forebear.
Jenny said: "Ethel was a formidable character who had to battle for 30 years to get the register established.
"Among her many opponents were both Florence Nightingale and Queen Victoria who considered nursing to be almost a religious calling.
"But Ethel wanted her nurses to be professional.
"She didn't believe a nurse was just the servant to the doctor.
"Rather, she thought they should be viewed as a competent colleague in their own right."
By the time Ethel was aged just 24 she had already been appointed matron at one of the great hospitals in the country – St Bartholomew's in London.
When she married at the age of 30 she gave up work, as was the custom at the time for those who could afford it.
However her long battle to improve nursing standards was only just beginning.
As well as a committed campaigner on medical matters, Ethel was also a leading light in the fight for women to gain the right to vote.
She was a suffragetist rather than a suffragette.
That distinction was due to the fact that, unlike other famous figures such as Emmeline Pankhurst and Emily Davidson, she believed the best way to achieve this goal was through legal and peaceful means.
However, she wasn't beyond all forms confrontation.
Once, when aged well into her 80s, she wielded her umbrella at a policeman who had stoked her anger.
The Registration Bill for nurses was finally passed in 1919, the year after women over the age of 30 gained the right to vote.
After agreement was reached on a format for training, the register was opened in 1921.
A commemorative service planned to commemorate its 100th anniversary was originally postponed due to Covid, but finally took place earlier at St Barts this year.
Fittingly, the service marked not just Ethel's efforts, but all the hard work done by nurses, especially during the pandemic.
'Ethel Gordon Fenwick. A Nursing Reformer and the First Registered Nurse' contains heaps of information not just about the woman herself, but also about the duties and working conditions of nurses during the era.
The book is available from several sources online.
All Jenny's proceeds will go to the Moray Society, the charity which administers the Elgin Museum.
