Spotlight On...

Letter by Eva Lyon, medical student Royal Infirmary, c.1904

Below is a letter sent by Eva Lyon to her cousin Florrie probably in 1904. Lyon studied English and Latin in 1903, going on to undertake a medical course at the Royal Infirmary the following year. She vividly describes her life as a student, particularly the hazards of weekend work in the outpatient department.

She writes: 'Whenever a case comes in to be dressed a bell rings and we go to do it. On a Saturday night we always get a lot of cases especially after the public houses close'.

She goes on to add that a lot of the patients were the worse for drink but this had its advantages:

'I was most pleased with my handiwork...as the man was drunk he didn't feel any pain during the proceedings'.

Letter by Eva Lyon, medical student, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, c.1904

These items were gifted to the archive by the cousin's daughter (LHSA ref: GD1/132/2).

For more information, please contact us.