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Open Day March 2026

Photo: Andrea Massey

On 21 March, the Orkney Women Doctors Research Group (OWDRG) held an “Open Day” in the MacGillivray Room at the  Orkney Library & Archive. This followed on from an exhibition last year, at the Pier Arts Centre, and in North Ronaldsay which looked at the career of Dr Beatrice Garvie, who worked in North Ronaldsay in the 1930s and ‘40s. Since then, the group have continued to research the early women doctors; so far more than fifty.

The aim of the Open Day was to showcase our research so far. We also hoped to hear some more memories and stories of these early women doctors and their time in Orkney.

We had a steady stream of visitors during the day who showed a keen interest in the project and our research to date. Thanks to all those who came, we really enjoyed chatting with you.

Here are a few photos from the Open Day:

Our OWDRG quilt details all of the early women doctors found so far and where they were located. This is a work in progress, and we are now adding emblems to identify those who completed the Triple Qualification, were suffragists, part of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), or served in the Scottish Women’s Army Foreign Service during WWI.  At the bottom of the quilt are hand sewn panels representing travel methods, fabrics for clothes they wore and places they worked.


Photo: Jenny Hall

Doctors bag and contents

Photo: Jenny Hall

Sling, bandages and bandage winders

Photo: Jenny Hall

Baby bibs, to illustrate the high percentage of infant mortality from various common diseases and conditions at the time

Photo: Jenny Hall

One particularly remarkable story we heard was of Orkney born doctor, Jessie Muir, who was injured in a German air raid on 6 March 1940 in Stenness, where she lived. She and another woman had been taken into the home of the Isbister’s to shelter.  Tragically Mr Isbister was killed on the threshold of his house. He was the first civilian casualty in Britain during WWII. 

Andrea Massey, of the OWDRG, has assembled a display of archive resources documenting the context of early medical practice on the islands which is still available to see in the Archive search-room during April. You can read her blog post written for the Orkney Library & Archive here

"Beatrice Garvie and her cat". She’s wearing a jumper and tammy knitted by Lesley Booth. Lesley recreated the pattern from a photo of Beatrice Garvie wearing the same outfit including jodhpurs.

Photo: Orkney Library & Archive

Apothecary set detailing many of the women who practised in Orkney before 1910

Photo: Orkney Library & Archive

There are also some photos and other information on a notice board in the corridor just outside the room.

Photo: Sian Thomas

Here’s a link to an Orkney News story about our project and Open Day. We are grateful to Fiona Grahame for coming along to speak with us and continues to help spread the word about the remarkable early women doctors in Orkney.

If you have any further stories or would like any information we would love to hear from you.

Once again thanks to the Orkney Library & Archive staff for their help and support with our project.


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