The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service--the Girton and Newnham Unit, 1915-1918.

The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service were established shortly after the outbreak of the First World War. Opportunities were limited for medical women prior to the war and during it they were unable to obtain a commission in the Royal Army Medical Corps, hence the formation of these voluntary all-women units. The Girton and Newnham Unit, under the leadership of Dr L McIlroy, served with distinction in France, Serbia and Greece, demonstrating clinical competence in the management of the emergency medical and surgical problems associated with warfare, areas usually off-limits to women doctors. They were severely tested but showed endurance and resilience in the running of their hospital in the most difficult of conditions.