Lady Eileen Crofton (28 March 1919 – 8 October 2010) was a British physician and author. She was best known for her anti-smoking campaigns.

Early life and education

Crofton was born on 28 March 1919 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

. Her father was an electrical engineer. She attended North London Collegiate School and

Somerville College Somerville College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 as Somerville Hall, one of its first two women's colleges. It began admitting men in 1994. The college's liberal tone derives from its f ...

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

. She qualified as a doctor in 1943.

Career

In 1944, Crofton joined the

Royal Army Medical Corps The Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) was a specialist corps in the British Army which provided medical services to all Army personnel and their families, in war and in peace. On 15 November 2024, the corps was amalgamated with the Royal Army De ...

. She was made a captain and posted in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, Northern Ireland. Between 1946 and 1949, Crofton worked at Brompton Hospital in London as a part-time clinical assistant. In 1952, her family moved to

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

when John Crofton became professor of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and lung disease at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 1962, Crofton became a research assistant in medical epidemiology, and in 1963 she became the county medical officer for the

Midlothian Midlothian (; ) is registration county, lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east-central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinburgh council ar ...

branch of the British Red Cross Society. Crofton and her husband helped found ASH Scotland, an anti-smoking charity, in 1973, and she became the first medical director of the charity. Between 1975 and 1987, she also worked on the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

's expert committee on smoking. Crofton's campaigns were worldwide and focused on increasing regulations for tobacco and educating people on the harm that smoking can cause. She also campaigned for smoking bans in public places. Crofton was awarded an MBE for services in public health in 1984. After her retirement in 1984, Crofton's anti-smoking campaigns continued. During her campaign work, Crofton attended an international medical conference at Royaumont, a former Cistercian abbey in France, where she found a plaque commemorating a Scottish women's hospital which operated out of the Abbey during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Realising that the story and background of this hospital was relatively unknown, Crofton researched and published a book on the Scottish Women's Hospital at Royaumont called, ''Angels of Mercy: A Woman's Hospital on the Western Front 1914-1918''.

Personal life

She met her husband, John Crofton, when she was working in

. They married in 1945 and had five children, three daughters and two sons.

Death and legacy

She died on 8 October 2010. In recognition of their campaigning and charity work, Crofton and her husband had an award named after them in 2009 by the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland in collaboration with ASH Scotland. It is awarded to young people who work to reduce the harm caused by tobacco and smoking.

Publications

* ''The social effects of chronic bronchitis : a Scottish study'', 1965 * ''Questions people ask about smoking'', 1977 * ''Smoking in Scottish hospitals : an ASH survey'', 1977 * ''The sale of cigarettes in general and maternity hospitals in Scotland : an ASH enquiry'', 1980 * ''The women of Royaumont : a Scottish Women's Hospital on the Western Front'', 1996 * ''A painful inch to gain : personal experiences of early women medical students in Britain'', 2013 * ''Angels of Mercy: A Woman's Hospital on the Western Front 1914-1918'', 2013

References

External links

Eileen Crofton's entry in the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crofton, Eileen 1919 births 2010 deaths Anti-smoking activists 20th-century Scottish medical doctors Alumni of Somerville College, Oxford 20th-century Scottish women writers British health activists Members of the Order of the British Empire