Isabel Galloway Emslie, Lady Hutton

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(11 September 1887 – 11 January 1960) was a Scottish physician who specialised in

mental health Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...

and

social work Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social wo ...

. She served leading units in Dr

Elsie Inglis Eliza Maud "Elsie" Inglis (16 August 1864 – 26 November 1917) was a Scottish medical doctor, surgeon, teacher, suffragist, and founder of the Scottish Women's Hospitals. She was the first woman to hold the Serbian Order of the White Eagl ...

Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service The Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Services (SWH) was founded in 1914. It was led by Dr Elsie Inglis and provided nurses, doctors, ambulance drivers, cooks and orderlies. By the end of World War I, 14 medical units had been outfitted and ...

in the front line in

World War I 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 ...

and won awards from the British, Serbian, Russian and French. Emslie married British military officer Lt General Sir Thomas Jacomb Hutton.

Early life and education

Isabel Galloway Emslie was born in

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 ...

in 1887. She was the eldest daughter of James Emslie,

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. List of country legal systems, Different countries and legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a ba ...

and Deputy Keeper of the Privy Seal of Scotland. She was educated at

Edinburgh Ladies' College The Mary Erskine School (MES) is an all-girls private day school in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1694 and has a roll of around 750 pupils. The majority of its pupils live in the surrounding area (Edinburgh, Lothian and Fife) but board ...

, then enrolled 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 ...

, where she trained in the women's medical school, spending her hospital residence years at the

Edinburgh Royal Infirmary The Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh (RIE) was established in 1729, and is the oldest voluntary hospital in Scotland. The new buildings of 1879 were claimed to be the largest voluntary hospital in the United Kingdom, and later on, the Empire."In Comi ...

. In 1910, she graduated with a degree in medicine and in 1912 was awarded her MD degrees with a thesis titled "Wassermann sero-diagnosis of syphilis in 200 cases of insanity".

Career

While completing her thesis, Emslie worked as a

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

at the Stirling District Asylum, then moved to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children before becoming the first woman to be appointed in charge of the women's medicine of the

Royal Edinburgh Hospital The Royal Edinburgh Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Morningside Place, Edinburgh, Scotland. It is managed by NHS Lothian. History The "foundational myth" has it that the hospital was founded by Dr Andrew Duncan, following the death of ...

. In 1915, she joined the Scottish Women's Hospitals Organisation and served in France at the Domaine de Chanteloup,

Sainte-Savine Sainte-Savine () is a commune in the Aube department in north-central France. Population See also * Communes of the Aube department The following is a list of the 431 communes of the Aube department of France France, officially ...

, near

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within ...

, then with the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

’s Armee d'Orient in

Salonika Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, distinguishing herself by leading the unit which accompanied the

Serbian army The Serbian Army () is the land-based and the largest component of the Serbian Armed Forces. Its organization, composition, weapons and equipment are adapted to the assigned missions and tasks of the Serbian Armed Forces, primarily for operatio ...

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 ...

. Following the closure of the Serbian hospital where she worked, Emslie took over

Lady Muriel Paget Lady Muriel Evelyn Vernon Paget CBE DStJ (''née'' Finch-Hatton; 19 August 1876 – 16 June 1938) was a British philanthropist and humanitarian relief worker, initially based in London, and later in Eastern and Central Europe. She was made an ...

's mission in

Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...

. In this role, she brought several orphaned children to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(now Istanbul) and organised relief for Russian refugees. In 1928, she published ''With a Woman's Unit in Serbia, Salonika and Sebastopol'', an account of these years. For her work during this period, she was awarded the Serbian orders of the White Eagle and St. Sava, the French

Croix de Guerre The (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awarded during World ...

, and the Order of St. Anna of Russia. On her return to Edinburgh in 1920, she was reinstated to her former post at the

but resigned the position after her marriage the following year to Major Thomas Hutton. She then moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, working as a researcher the

Maudsley Hospital The Maudsley Hospital is a British psychiatric hospital in south London. The Maudsley is the largest mental health training institution in the UK. It is part of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and works in partnership with the I ...

which led to a research paper with Sir Frederick Mott, and honorary consultancies at the Maudsley and the West End Hospital for Nervous Disease. In October 1939, she was living in

Marylebone Marylebone (usually , also ) is an area in London, England, and is located in the City of Westminster. It is in Central London and part of the West End. Oxford Street forms its southern boundary. An ancient parish and latterly a metropo ...

and was registered as a consultant physician. In 1940, she published ''Mental Disorders in Modern Life'', drawing on her experience from these roles. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she joined her husband in India and took up the post of director of the Indian Red Cross welfare service, also undertaking charity work, broadcasting, and dispatches for the external affairs department. She returned to England in 1946. In 1948, she was appointed as a

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

. Becoming a senior consultant, Hutton was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine and a member of the Royal Medico-Psychological Association. She died on 11 January 1960 at her home in London. She was buried with her parents in the

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

in south Edinburgh. Her gravestone, sculpted by

Pilkington Jackson Charles d’Orville Pilkington Jackson RSA, FRBS, FRSA (11 October 1887 – 20 September 1973) was a British sculptor prominent in Scotland in the 20th century. Throughout his career he worked closely with the architect Sir Robert Lorimer. He ...

, stands near the centre of the south-west extension.

Selected works

* ''With a Woman's Unit in Serbia, Salonika and Sebastopol'', 1928 * ''Mental Disorders in Modern Life'', 1940 * autobiography, ''Memoirs of a Doctor in War and Peace'', 1960.

Awards and honours

* In 2015, a Serbian postage stamp was released to honour her work during the war. * Serbian orders of the White Eagle and St. Sava * French

* Order of St. Anna of Russia * 1948,

* in the city of

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 55,214 while the city administrative area has 74,381 inhabitan ...

, Serbia the località Medicine High School brings her name in her honour.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Isabel Emslie 1887 births 1960 deaths Wives of knights 20th-century Scottish medical doctors British women in World War I 20th-century Scottish women medical doctors Recipients of the Order of St. Sava British recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Scottish psychiatrists British women psychiatrists History of mental health in the United Kingdom Female recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of the Royal Society of Medicine Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service volunteers 20th-century British non-fiction writers Scottish medical writers 20th-century Scottish women writers