Orkney Women Doctors Project (1894 to 1948)

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Dr Jean McPhail/Cursiter – Papa Westray 1926 to 1945 - Dramatic Rescue

Injured Woman’s Terrible Flight. Marooned and helpless on Papa Westray. Rowing Boat’s Hazardous Voyage. On 25 November 1931, Dr Jean Cursiter left Papa Westray to accompany a seriously injured patient on a hazardous and extraordinary journey to hospital in Kirkwall.[1] She left behind her husband Ian and 8 month old son, Jack. It's unlikely she would return for some days given the stormy weather. Jessie Groat's hand had been caught in a threshing machine, and although the machine was stopped immediately, the limb was crushed and lacerated to the elbow. Her husband, farmer Thomas Groat, of Howe summoned Dr Cursiter who attended to the injury but realised the case was so serious it needed an immediate operation if Mrs Groat was to survive. Papa Westray was completely cut off from any help or rescue. The island had no telegraph or telephone communication to summon help from Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland. The sea was rough and dangerous for a small boat to cross. The Orkney...

Dr Jean McPhail/Cursiter – Papa Westray 1926 to 1945 Part 1

An earlier post detailed the challenges that the island of Papa Westray (known locally as Papay) had experienced since 1896 in trying to get a local Resident Medical Officer. Prior to that the doctor from Westray had to be rowed over. Once Papay had secured funding for a resident doctor they found it was very hard to recruit them, and they often didn’t stay. Many were young women doctors, newly qualified in Glasgow and Edinburgh and found the lack of transport and housing made it intolerable for them to remain on the island. Link to earlier post One woman doctor was the exception to this. She arrived in 1926 and stayed until 1945. Dr Jean McPhail had previous experience of Orkney and islands and this likely informed her decision to apply for the job on Papay. Also by this time a house for the doctor had been built, complete with surgery. Island life clearly suited her as she became fully involved in the community, married a local man and ...

Dr Robina Marwick (Final Part) World War II – Liberation of Belsen Concentration Camp

Dr Robina Marwick - RAMC Remembrance Day 11 November 2025 marked 80 years since VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) on 8 May and VJ Day (Victory in Japan Day) on 15 August. It therefore feels timely to tell the story of Orkney born woman doctor, Dr Robina (Rina) Marwick, one of the first doctors to enter the Belsen Concentration Camp. Dr Marwick joined the RAMC (Royal Army Medical Corps) in 1943 and was stationed in Leeds, Aldershot and Hastings. She crossed to Normandy in July 1944, a month after the D-Day landings. Stationed in a hospital in Antwerp she was in charge of the Resuscitation Ward. There she tended severely wounded patients, giving them transfusions and other treatments to enable them to be fit enough for further operations.[1] Dr Marwick - Resuscitation Ward On 1 January 1945 she tells in her own words how they all rushed outside as “at breakfast time we heard a lot of planes flying over quite low. We all went outside to see them and give the...

Dr Robina Marwick (Lady Birsay) - Part 2 - Sanday 1940-1943

In Part 1 we introduced Dr Robina (Rina) Marwick and her early life. In this post the story focuses on her time during World War II on the island of Sanday, one of the more Northerly of the Orkney Islands. She arrived on the island in 1940 as the previous island doctor had been called up. Rina Marwick on Sanday Rina Marwick was born in Stromness on 2 nd August, 1914, just two days before World War 1 broke out and now in 1940 she was once again living through war but this time taking an active part. Records show Dr Marwick was on Sanday in March 1940.[1] She was the first woman doctor to reside on the island, there having been one earlier known woman doctor, Dr Jean McPhail, acting as a locum for her brother in the 1920s.[2] It had been thought that the isolation of Sanday was an unsuitable place for a woman doctor.[3] However, at just 25, Dr Marwick found herself the sole medical doctor on the island, caring for an island population of about 1,000.[4] Doctors ...

Dr Robina Marwick/Leslie (Lady Birsay) - Part 1

Dr Robina Marwick’s story is now perhaps better known among an older generation in Orkney. She was on our initial list of Orkney women doctors when we first formed our group, but with over 50 women to research, we had only gathered some basic information. Recently, however, we have been delighted to receive a wealth of source material from Dr Marwick's daughter, Thelma Stewart. We are indebted to Thelma for sharing more about the life of her mother which gives a rich insight into the extraordinary life of Dr Robina Marwick. We aim to tell Dr Marwick’s remarkable story in a series of blog posts. Graduation photo of Robina Marwick WHAT WE KNEW Rina (as she was known to family and friends) was born Robina Margaret Marwick, in Graham Place, Stromness on 2 nd August 1914. She did extremely well at school in Stromness and won a Scholarship to the University of Edinburgh to study medicine, qualifying in 1937. She briefly worked in Edinburgh and Sunderland hospitals be...

Short talk on "Finding Dr Garvie" by Fiona Sanderson

We are delighted to share a short film that Fiona Sanderson was asked to produce by the Pier Arts Centre about the exhibition "Finding Dr Garvie". She also tells a little bit about the continuing Orkney Women Doctors Research Group. Hopefully those who were unable to come along to the exhibition and talks get a flavour of what was on show, and the story behind it. The film is about 14 minutes long. Click Here for "Finding Dr Garvie" Video on Vimeo Credit: Pier Arts Centre, Stromness