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Dr Prudence Elizabeth Gaffikin – Papa Westray and Westray

 

Dr Prudence Gaffikin was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1874.[1] She began working on Papa Westray (Papay) in 1901 at the age of 27, just a few months after qualifying from the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow in 1900.[2]

The Papa Westray Parish Minutes of 10 April 1901 note an application from Dr Gaffikin for the post of Medical Officer and Public Vaccinator. The Council agreed to appoint her from 5 May 1901. Dr Gaffikin subsequently resigned (letter of 2 July 1901) with effect from October 1901. No reason for her resignation is noted in the minutes.[3]

In 1902 she appears to have moved to Westray to work as an assistant to the Medical Officer there (thought to be a Dr Skea). She is mentioned in the Papa Westray minutes at a joint meeting of the Parish Council and the Medical Committee of 18 August 1902.  The Parish Council ask her if she would return as Medical Officer to Papa Westray – but she declines.[3]

Dr Gaffikin was preceded on Papa Westray by Dr Jane Craig/Latchmore and succeeded by Dr Jeanie Trail/Cummings. A previous blog post reports some interesting insights into the surprisingly high number of women doctors on Papa Westray in the early years.  Link to blog post

As yet we don’t know what links (if any) there were between these women doctors on the islands and we hope to explore this in the coming months.  It may be that the women qualified at a similar time, or at the same university, or there were informal networks letting them know of vacancies.  It is known that, for example, on the island of Eday, the Parish Minutes note the Clerk was instructed to contact the Secretary of the Women’s Medical College in Edinburgh and notify them of the vacancy, as well as also advertising in the Scotsman newspaper.[4]

Although we know little about her time in Orkney, Dr Gaffikin’s achievements elsewhere are better documented.  

After leaving Orkney her work focussed on public health and, in particular, maternal and child welfare, school medical inspections and the teaching of hygiene in schools.  She published a paper on this subject in 1911 in the Journal of the Royal Institute of Public Health.[5]

In 1912 she was one of a number of medical professionals who signed a medical petition against the forcible feeding of women suffragette prisoners which was sent to the then Home Secretary.[6]

Daily Herald, 5 July 1912

While during WW1, in September 1916, Dr Gaffikin embarked on the Hospital Ship “Essquibo” as part of the Women’s Medical Unit of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC).[7]  She was contracted to work for 12 months as a Civilian Surgeon attached to the RAMC.  Her salary was 24 shillings a day. A gratuity of £60 was awarded at the end of the contract, as long as employment wasn’t terminated due to misconduct. In 1917 she was working at the Manoel Island Hospital (Malta), returning to England on 9 September 1918 having had her one year contract extended. She’s reported as then working at “Southern Command” until January 1919 when she resigned.

After the war Dr Gaffikin held a number of posts including House Surgeon for the Royal Samaritan Hospital for Women in Glasgow; Assistant Medical Officer of Health, Huddersfield; Acting Medical Officer of Health, Warrington which included supervision of a small tuberculosis hospital; and Schools Medical Officer, Enfield.  She was also Secretary of The Women’s National Health Association (WNHA) which was founded in 1907 to promote public health in Ireland.[7]

Dr Prudence Gaffikin died in 1966 in Winchester, Hampshire, at the age of 92 having led a full and extraordinary life[1]

We have no photos of Dr Gaffikin, and very little information of her time in Orkney. If you know anything about her, please do get in touch.

Researched and written by Sian Thomas

With thanks for additional research to Christine Bryan, Andrea Massey and Jeanie Molyneux. Thanks also to the archivists in Orkney Library and Archive for their invaluable help.

Note: The population of Papay in 1901 was 295 and 1,817 for Westray [Population figures were taken from Barclay R.S. “The Population of Orkney 1755-1916. Published by W.R. Mackintosh, The Kirkwall Press, 1965.]

References

[1] Professor Roger Jeffrey of the University of Edinburgh - Database on Women Doctors.
[2] UK Medical Registers 1859-1959; 1915. (Accessed through Ancestry.co.uk).
[3] CO6/11/1: Papa Westray Parish Council Minute Book, 1895-1903, Orkney Library and Archive.
[4] CO6/3/3: Eday Parish Council Minute Book, 1899-1908, Orkney Library and Archive.
[5] Gaffikin P. (1911) “The need of some correlation between infant mortality work, school medical inspection, and the teaching of hygiene in schools. Journal of the Royal Institute of Public Health,19(7), pp399-406.
[6] “Torture”, Daily Herald, 5 July 1912.
[7] MaltaRAMC.com (https://maltaramc.com/ladydoc/g/gaffikenpe.html)

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