NEWS: A Woman Of Note

By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
2 November 2009

THE memory of Edinburgh's own Florence Nightingale, who fought death in foreign battlefields and inequality at home, is set to live on in your wallet.

Wartime hero and Suffragette Dr Elsie Inglis will feature on Clydesdale Bank's new £50 note, which enters circulation today.

Born in India in 1864, she was brought to the city by her father and attended the Edinburgh School of Medicine for Women in its first year of opening.

She set up the Scottish Women's Hospital movement in 1914 and was renowned for her work throughout Europe during the First World War. The movement set up field hospitals in countries including France, Belgium, Serbia, Romania, Greece and Russia, and was credited with saving the lives of many thousands of servicemen.

The release of the £50 note coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the Princes Street Suffrage March, which Elsie Inglis played a significant role in organising.

Janet Fenton, co-ordinator of the Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre and organiser of last month's centenary reenactment of the march, said: "We wholeheartedly welcome anything that draws attention to the extremely important work Elsie Inglis did. It's significant that while she worked tirelessly to ease the suffering of the victims of war she was herself a staunch peace activist.

"It's important to remember her efforts to give women the vote, so they now have the power to use their vote in the coming general election to put peace on the agenda in today's troubled times."

The bank note is the second of Clydesdale Bank's new world heritage notes which will be available across the country from 10am.

As well as featuring Elsie Inglis on the front, the £50 note will depict the Roman-built Antonine Wall on the reverse.

Lynne Peacock, chief executive of Clydesdale Bank, said: "Clydesdale Bank's new £50 note reflects the diversity of Scotland's history.

"As a bank we are extremely proud to mark the achievements of both Elsie Inglis influence on the nation's Suffrage movement as well as her remarkable medical achievements.

"We hope the notes prompt people to take a further interest and to delve deeper into Scotland's history."

Malcolm MacNicol, a former surgeon and great-nephew of Elsie Inglis, said: "Elsie Inglis had a massive impact on Scotland's political and medical history.

"Marking the achievements Elsie made in her life, while coinciding with the anniversary of the Princes Street Suffrage March, with her inclusion on the Clydesdale Bank note is to be welcomed and I hope this increases the public's awareness of her work.