Alice Sophia Gregory (22 November 1867 – 8 November 1946) was a British midwife who founded the

British Hospital for Mothers and Babies The British Hospital for Mothers and Babies (1905–1984) was a maternity hospital in south London. History The Home for Mothers and Babies and Training School for District Midwives opened in May 1905, with the stated objectives of professionali ...

to create professional training for midwives.

Life

Gregory was born in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, which today also gives its name to the (much larger) London Borough of Lambeth. Lambeth itself was an ancient parish in the county of Surrey. It is situated 1 mile (1.6 km) south of Charin ...

in 1867. Her parents were Charlotte Anne (born Stopford) and Robert Gregory. Her father was in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and in time he would be the dean of

St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Paul the Apostle, is an Anglican cathedral in London, England, the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London in the Church of Engl ...

. She was their last of three daughters who survived them. She had half brothers from her father's first marriage.June Hannam, ‘Gregory, Alice Sophia (1867–1946)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 29 April 2017
/ref> Gregory intended to ensure that all midwives were trained. She wanted to end the idea of a "handywoman" (cf

traditional birth attendant A traditional birth attendant (TBA), also known as a traditional midwife, community midwife or lay midwife, is a pregnancy and childbirth care provider. Traditional birth attendants provide the majority of primary maternity care in many develop ...

) who would assist home births. The ''Home for Mothers and Babies'' in Wood Street,

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

opened in May 1905 due to her efforts which was assisted by the local Rector of Woolwich

Charles Escreet Charles Ernest Escreet (20 February 1852 – 3 March 1919) was an Anglican priest: the Archdeacon of Lewisham from 1906 to 1919. Life Escreet was educated at Tonbridge School and Wadham College, Oxford. He was ordained in 1875 and began his c ...

. She was assisted by Leila Parnell and Maud Cashmere. The hospital soon had twelve beds but it first opened with just six beds. Its purpose was to provide a service and to establish a training location for midwives. This hospital amalgamated in 1915 with the

British Lying-In Hospital The British Lying-In Hospital was a maternity hospital established in London in 1749, the second such foundation in the capital. Background The impetus for the creation of a dedicated maternity hospital was dissatisfaction on the part of the gov ...

Holborn Holborn ( or ), an area in central London, covers the south-eastern part of the London Borough of Camden and a part (St Andrew Holborn (parish), St Andrew Holborn Below the Bars) of the Wards of the City of London, Ward of Farringdon Without i ...

. In 1916 Gregory as "Honorary Secretary of the British Hospital for Mothers and Babies" gave evidence before the commission on venereal diseases (

sexually transmitted infections A sexually transmitted infection (STI), also referred to as a sexually transmitted disease (STD) and the older term venereal disease (VD), is an infection that is spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, or ...

). She argued to lengthen the training of midwives, which was then six months for a nurse and a year for a new application. She noted that babies had died because midwives were unaware of these diseases and on occasions the midwives spread and rarely themselves caught the disease. The stigma of this meant that this was not openly discussed.The Training of Midwives
11 March 1916, British Journal of Nursing supplement, RCNArchive, Retrieved 30 April 2017 During World War II the hospital was damaged in a bombing raid in 1940.Archives Hub > ''RCMS - Royal College of Midwives Special Collections > Papers of Pamela Daymond > British Hospital for Mothers and Babies: Attendance registers''
/ref> Alice Gregory was still working at the hospital and she arranged for a new wing which was opened by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a substantive title, title customarily (but not automatically) awarded by British monarchs to their eldest daughters. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal famil ...

in 1944. Gregory retired on medical grounds in June 1944 and went to live with Maud Cashmere. She died in retirement in their house near

Alfriston Alfriston is a village and civil parish in the East Sussex district of Wealden, England. The village lies in the valley of the River Cuckmere, about four miles (6 km) north-east of Seaford and south of the main A27 trunk road and part ...

in November 1946.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gregory, Alice 1867 births 1946 deaths People from Lambeth English midwives People from Alfriston