Ethel May Vaughan-Sawyer
Born
Ethel May Vaughan

(1868-07-06)July 6, 1868
Derby, Derbyshire
DiedMarch 9, 1949(1949-03-09) (aged 80)
Mount Vernon Hospital, Northwood, London
Alma materUniversity College London; London School of Medicine for Women
EmployerRoyal Free Hospital
Organization(s)Royal Society of Medicine; Association of Registered Medical Women; Fabian Society

Ethel May Vaughan-Sawyer (6 July 1868 – 9 March 1949) was a British gynaecological surgeon.[1] She was described by pioneering physician and feminist Louisa Garrett Anderson as "100 times better at her work than I am".[1] A champion of women's rights to work and take part in political life, Vaughan-Sawyer described herself as an example of "healthy normal womanhood usefully and happily employed".[1][2]

Life

Ethel May Vaughan was born on 6 July 1868 in Derby, the oldest of eight children born to Cedric Vaughan and Jane Ellen Ridley.[1] Her father was a locomotive engineer, who from 1872 was manager of the Hodbarrow Mining Company in Cumberland, where the family moved.[1]

With her two younger sisters, Ethel was educated at a private school in Bottesford, Leicestershire, and later in Lausanne.[1] From 1889, she studied at University College London, and in 1891 entered the London School of Medicine for Women, where she excelled.[1] She graduated BS and MB in 1896, and MD in 1898.[1]

In 1907, Vaughan married George Henry Vaughan-Sawyer, a captain and author.[1] The marriage was happy and their daughter, Petronella Grace, was born on 31 August 1908.[1][3] George Henry Vaughan-Sawyer was killed in action in 1914.[1][4] Petronella Grace, a designer and illustrator, died in 1931 at the age of 22.[1][5]

Medical career

In 1897, Vaughan became assistant medical officer to Camberwell Infirmary.[1] She subsequently became curator of the Royal Free Hospital's museum, and in 1899 clinical assistant to physician Raymond Crawfurd.[1] In 1901, she spent time in Paris with fellow physician Louisa Garrett Anderson, visiting French hospitals.[1]

By that year, Vaughan had established a private practice from her home in Brompton Square, South Kensington, alongside her friend Dr. Kate Marion Hunter.[1] When, a year later, Mary Scharlieb was appointed physician for the diseases of women at the Royal Free Hospital, Vaughan was made her assistant.[1] Scharlieb described Vaughan as both "a great pleasure to work with" and "one of the best and most skilful surgeons of the next generation".[1]

On Scharlieb's retirement in 1908, Vaughan took over, assisted by Florence Willey.[1] Vaughan also lectured at her alma mater, the London School of Medicine for Women.[1] Following the birth of her daughter in August 1908, Vaughan (now Vaughan-Sawyer) returned to the operating table in November proving, as Claire Brock has written, "that medical women were more than capable of combining the roles of surgeon, wife, and mother."[1] At the Royal Free Hospital, Vaughan's surgical skill was evident, as was her interest in new and developing surgeries, detailed in her case notes.[1][6] Vaughan-Sawyer also retained a private practice in Harley Street, and was actively involved in both the Royal Society of Medicine's obstetric and gynaecological division, and the Association of Registered Medical Women.[1] She lectured widely, and was a member of the Fabian Women's Group.[1]

In 1920, Vaughan-Sawyer was part of a committee seeking to establish scholarships for Serbian women to train in medicine at the Royal Free Hospital.[7]

Vaughan-Sawyer remained at the Royal Free Hospital until 1926, when her eyesight began to fail and she retired from her post.[1] Two years later, she became the Royal Free Hospital's consulting gynaecologist.[1]

Death and legacy

Vaughan-Sawyer died on 9 March 1949 in hospital in Northwood, Middlesex, having lived for two years in St John's Guest House for the Blind in Worthing.[1] On her death, a correspondent to The Times described her as having spoken of all the "calamities" of her life - and everything else - "with robust humour and a philosophy that had its roots in her deep and living faith."[8] Her obituary in the same paper remembered her as "for many years a noted gynaecologist and obstetrician".[9] An obituary was also published the British Medical Journal.[3]

Ethel Vaughan-Sawyer's case notes are held by the London Metropolitan Archives.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 Brock, Claire (2023). "Sawyer [née Vaughan], Ethel May Vaughan- (1868–1949), gynaecological surgeon". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.90000382351. ISBN 978-0-19-861412-8. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  2. ↑ "A Ban On Marriage". The Times. 2 April 1914. p. 5.
  3. 1 2 Group, British Medical Journal Publishing (1949-03-19). "Obituary". Br Med J. 1 (4602): 503–504. doi:10.1136/bmj.1.4602.503-a. ISSN 0007-1447. S2CID 220033386.
  4. ↑ "Captain George Henry Vaughan-Sawyer". Imperial War Museums. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  5. ↑ "Miss Vaughan-Sawyer". The Times. 1 September 1931. p. 14.
  6. ↑ Brock, Claire, ed. (2017), "The Experiences of Female Surgical Patients at the Royal Free Hospital, 1903–1913", British Women Surgeons and their Patients, 1860–1918, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 69–127, ISBN 978-1-107-18693-4, retrieved 2023-08-22
  7. ↑ Sharlieb, Mary; Berry, Mary Dickinson; Petrie, Hilda Flinders (14 April 1920). "Medical Scholarships For Serbian Girls". The Times. p. 10.
  8. ↑ C. S. C. (25 March 1949). "Dr. Ethel Vaughan-Sawyer". The Times. p. 6.
  9. ↑ "Dr. Ethel Vaughan-Sawyer". The Times. 16 March 1949. p. 7.
  10. ↑ Dr Vaughan-Sawyer. 1904–1919.
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