Ella Campbell Scarlett


Hon. Ella Campbell Scarlett-Synge was an English physician who became the first woman medical practitioner in the state of Bloemfontein, South Africa and the first woman doctor at the Royal Columbian Hospital in Canada.

Early life and education

Scarlett was born at Abinger Hall in Surrey, England, 22 November 1864. Her parents were William Scarlett, 3rd Baron Abinger and Helen Magruder Scarlett, niece of John B. Magruder.
In 1897, Scarlett studied medicine at the London School of Medicine for Women and the Royal Free Hospital for five years, and spent some time in Korea at the Royal Court.

Career

In 1902, Scarlett traveled to Norvalspont, South Africa to serve, by government appointment, in the concentration camp as part of the Boer War. Scarlett then moved to Bloemfontein, where she was part of a six-member committee appointed by the British Minister of War to investigate conditions in the concentration camps. In 1903 Scarlett was assigned the position of doctor to Normal College and the Dames Instituut.
In 1907, Scarlett moved to Edmonton, Canada, for five years before moving to New Westminster. In 1915 Scarlett worked for the Canadian Red Cross teaching first aid and home nursing, as well as organising the first Women's Volunteer Reserve Corps of Canada and becoming the first woman doctor at the Royal Columbian Hospital. In August 1915, Scarlett traveled to Serbia to distribute medical supplies and visited British prisoner of war camps in Germany. She died in 1937 in London.