'They will both go to heaven and have crowns and golden harps': Dr Vera Scantlebury Brown and Female Leadership in a First World War Military Hospital
Heather Sheard
Abstract
Vera Scantlebury Brown was the pioneer director of infant welfare in Victoria, the first woman appointed to head a government department in that state. From1926 to 1946, she put into place the universal structure of maternal and child health services and pre-schools we have in Victoria today. This paper, however, is concerned with prior influences on the development of Vera’s own leadership that resulted from her experience of working under Drs Louisa Garrett Anderson and Flora Murray at Endell Street Military Hospital in London during World War I. As an assistant surgeon, Vera noted their leadership style and their way of life as single, professional and independent women. Her letters indicated their importance as female role models, responsible for a large and complex organisation in a challenging environment.
Keywords
medical women, World War I women surgeons, female leadership, Endell Street Military Hospital, Dr Vera Scantlebury Brown, Dr Louisa Garrett Anderson, Dr Flora Murray
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