Laura Sandeman
PLAQUE099
DedicateeDedicated to
Dr Laura Stewart Sandeman
(Bradshaw, Greater Manchester, 1862 - 1929)
FunderFunded by
Aberdeen Women's Alliance
(Aberdeen, Scotland)
DescriptionDr LauraSandeman
1862-1929
General Practitioner,
social welfare pioneer and
Chief Medical Officer of
Scotland Women's Hospital
for Foreign Service
lived and worked
here.
HistoryDr Laura Stewart Sandeman (2 January 1862 - 22 February 1929)
Dr. Laura Sandeman was born on 2 January, 1862 in Bradshaw, Lancashire. She was the eldest daughter of Colonel Frank Stewart Sandeman. Her father owned the mill at Stanley, Perthshire, where Laura grew up. She studied at Edinburgh University, graduating with a Bachelor of Medicine and a Bachelor of Surgery in 1900 and became a Doctor of Medicine in 1903, making her one of the early women to graduate in Medicine. She then came north to Aberdeen and started a medical practice at 22 Waverley Place with Dr Anne Mercer Watson. She also opened a practice in Victoria Road, Torry where she worked with women and their families. She also voluntarily ran the Child Welfare Centre in Torry as Medical Officer.
At the beginning of the First World War in 1914, she placed herself at the disposal of the country. She went to France with the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service and was the first Chief Medical Officer from May to September 1915 at Troyes. She served alongside Louise McIlroy at the Second Unit 'under tents'. Dr. Elsie Inglis from Edinburgh, who had set up the Scottish Women's Hospitals, also served at the Second Unit as a Bacteriologist. Later Dr Sandeman became Controller of Medical Services to Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps and was also Mentioned in Dispatches. In June 1916 Dr Sandeman presided over a meeting held in Edinburgh to form the Scottish Midwives Association where 'steps were taken to make the initial arrangements'.
Dr Sandeman returned to Aberdeen and her general practice where her colleague Dr Anne Mercer Watson had carried on their work in her absence. She also served on the Scottish Board of Health Consultative Council - a precursor to the NHS.
In 1924 Dr Sandeman stood for election as a Member of Parliament as a candidate for the Conservative and Unionist Party for the North Aberdeen seat but was defeated into second place by the Labour Party candidate, William Wedgewood Benn. She ran again unsuccessfully as a candidate for this seat in 1928. Dr Sandeman and Dr Watson continued their work with Torry's disadvantaged families until Dr Sandeman’s sudden death on 22nd February 1929 from pneumonia, following a bout of flu, at her home in Waverley Place.
Professor Alexander Low, President of the Aberdeen Medico-Chirurgical Society which Dr Sandeman had been a member of since 1905, paid the following tribute to her in the Press and Journal, 23 February 1929 'The death of Dr Laura Sandeman leaves a deep sense of personal loss among all her medical colleagues with her robust common sense, wide sympathy, and large outlook on life, she filled a place in the regard and esteem of the members of her profession not often attained. The full range of her activities and influence was known to few. It can be truly said that, for the greater part of her life, she had lived for her profession. Her conspicuous ability and devotion is a tribute to the advance in medicine that has followed the entry of women into its study and practice.'
From 'Bringing Life to Aberdeen: A History of Maternity and Neonatal Services, Editors Lesley G Dunbar, Alison T McCall, Fiona J Rennie and George G Youngson, published by Luath Press, September 2022
Location Info22 Waverley Place. The site is currently rented office space. The plaque is located on the south facing wall, between the two windows to the right of the entrance porch.
