At the turn of the twentieth century, the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh had an indisputable reputation as a leading medical institution. Medical students travelled to Edinburgh in order to undertake their studies under the supervision of pioneering practitioners. However, students will always be students regardless of the period and there was always time for mischief and gossip. These two letters are an excellent example of the student experience at the time: confetti, Saturday night fever, and guinea pigs. As a bonus track, we bring you some really stylish photographs of RIE Residents.
Letter by Eva Lyon, medical student Royal Infirmary, c.1904
Below is a letter sent by Eva Lyon to her cousin
Florrie probably in 1904. Lyon studied English and Latin in 1903, going on to
undertake a medical course at the Royal Infirmary the following year. She
vividly describes her life as a student, particularly the hazards of weekend
work in the outpatient department.
She writes: 'Whenever a case comes in to be dressed a bell rings and we go to do it. On a Saturday night we always get a lot of cases especially after the public houses close'.
She goes on to add that a lot of the patients were the worse for drink, but this had its advantages: 'I was most pleased with my handiwork...as the man was drunk he didn't feel any pain during the proceedings'.
These items were gifted to the archive by the cousin's daughter.
Letter to the President of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Residents' Mess, March 1922
This letter was written by Willam Caw, the Deputy Superintendent of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, to the President of the Residents' Mess on 27th March 1922. In it, he asks for an explanation of some rather mischievous behaviour!
The residents of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh were medical graduates serving practical apprenticeships as House Officers. The residents lived within the Infirmary building at Lauriston Place in the Residency, each new intake forming a separate 'Mess'. The residents were bound by two sets of rules: one drawn up by the Board of managers; the other drawn up by themselves, and which governed the running of their Mess.
Unfortunately, we don't have a copy of the President's response!
100 Years of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh Residents
The residents of the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh were medical graduates serving practical apprenticeships as House Officers. Before 1950, a resident usually served for 6 months, and up until 1948, the position was unsalaried. The residents lived within the Infirmary building at Lauriston Place in the Residency, each new intake forming a separate 'Mess'. The residents were bound by two sets of rules: one drawn up by the Board of managers; the other drawn up by themselves, and which governed the running of their Mess.
Each intake of residents were photographed as a group and LHSA holds an almost complete run of residents' group photos from the 1850s to the 1960s. The photographs are mounted on card and in most cases feature the signatures of each resident.
The photographs shown below span 100 years, starting with the Winter 1865-1866 group. The collection as a whole is fascinating to look at, not only for finding famous individuals or ancestors; but for charting changing styles of dress and appearance, spotting the appearance of women from the 1940s onwards (although the first female resident was appointed in 1920), men in service uniform during the war years, and the odd residency pet!
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