Forgotten Women in Worcestershire’s Medical History, c. 1900 – 1939

Women have always played an important role in Worcester’s medical past, as nurses and midwives, and latterly as doctors. You might be familiar with some of their stories here at the George Marshall Medical Museum. In this talk, though, we will be taking you ‘behind the scenes’ of the medical institutions in Worcester and the surrounding area to explore the influence of local women from the early twentieth century whose contributions to these institutions have largely been forgotten. They weren’t members of the medical profession—in fact, most had no medical qualifications at all—but they all played a significant role at places like the City Infirmary or Powick Asylum. One even influenced maternity care for women across Britain. The talk will argue that these women, who came from different backgrounds and social classes, all played a vitally important role in keeping these organisations running – and that their contributions have largely been forgotten today.

Dr Anna Muggeridge is Lecturer in History at the University of Worcester. She is currently working on a history of women in local government in the interwar years, and is particularly interested in the contributions of women councillors to health and welfare services.