# Laura Sandeman

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**Laura Stewart Sandeman** (1862 – 22 February 1929) was a Scottish medical doctor and [political activist](/source/Activism).

## Early life and education

Laura Stewart Sandeman was born in 1862 in [Bradshaw, Lancashire](/source/Bradshaw,_Lancashire), the eldest daughter of Colonel Frank Stewart Sandeman.[1] She grew up in [Stanley, Perthshire](/source/Stanley,_Perthshire), where her father owned a mill. One of her brothers was [Nairne Stewart Sandeman](/source/Nairne_Stewart_Sandeman) who later became a [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)),[2] and another was the lawyer [Condie Sandeman](/source/Condie_Sandeman).

Sandeman studied medicine at the [University of Edinburgh](/source/University_of_Edinburgh), receiving a [Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery](/source/Bachelor_of_Medicine,_Bachelor_of_Surgery) in 1900, and became a [Doctor of Medicine](/source/Doctor_of_Medicine) in 1903.[3]

## Career

She began working as a general practitioner in [Aberdeen](/source/Aberdeen), focusing on the health of the city's working class, and developed an interest in [social work](/source/Social_work).

In 1915, she was the first [Chief Medical Officer](/source/Chief_Medical_Officer) of the [Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service](/source/Scottish_Women's_Hospitals_for_Foreign_Service) in [Troyes](/source/Troyes), alongside [Louise McIlroy](/source/Louise_McIlroy). She was next appointed to the [Royal Army Medical Corps](/source/Royal_Army_Medical_Corps), with the title of Controller of Medical Services (Overseas).[2] However, she refused to take up the post on the grounds that her pay would be 60% less than she could earn as a [general practitioner](/source/General_practitioner), and was less than a man with the same rank. She finally took up the position in 1917, and was given responsibility for operations in [France](/source/France).[4] She was known for avoiding wearing a military uniform, instead working in a skirt, shirt and tie.[5]

After the [World War I](/source/World_War_I), Sandeman returned to Scotland where for some years she worked at the [Dundee](/source/Dundee) [workhouse](/source/Workhouse).[1] She became active in the [Unionist Party](/source/Unionist_Party_(Scotland)), standing for the party in [Aberdeen North](/source/Aberdeen_North_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) at the [1924 United Kingdom general election](/source/1924_United_Kingdom_general_election), and again at a [1928 by-election](/source/1928_Aberdeen_North_by-election), taking second place to [Labour Party](/source/Labour_Party_(UK)) candidates on both occasions.[2]

Sandeman also served on the Scottish Board of Health Consultative Council.[6]

## Death

On 22 February 1929 she died of [pneumonia](/source/Pneumonia) in Aberdeen.[7] [Mary H. J. Henderson](/source/Mary_H._J._Henderson), administrator of the Scottish Women's Hospitals in Serbia, and a war poet, paid a tribute to Sandeman, along with Dr. [Elsie Inglis](/source/Elsie_Inglis), founder of Scottish Women's Hospitals, in *Magdalene* in her 1929 book, *Warp and Woof*, when saying:

'The hands indeed,

which minister where there was need;

The hands we loved, may not touch ours again,

May not alleviate our mortal pain,

They lie quiescent in the hands of God'[8]

## References

1. Scottish Women's Hospitals, "[Laura Stewart Sandeman](http://scottishwomenshospitals.co.uk/women/?a=S)"

1. "Dr Laura Sandeman", *[The Times](/source/The_Times)*, 23 February 1929

1. Sandeman, Laura Stewart (1903). [*Six cases of osteomalacia : five in aged women*](https://era.ed.ac.uk/handle/1842/27334)

1. Charles Messenger, *Call to Arms: The British Army 1914-18*

1. Isabel Hutton, *Memories of a Doctor in War and Peace*, p.134

1. Helen Jones, *Women in British Public Life, 1914-1950: Gender, Power, and Social Policy*, p. 66

1. ["Obituary of Dr Laura Sandeman in the "Aberdeen Journal""](https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/lifestory/4963694). *Aberdeen Journal*. 23 February 1929. p. 4.

1. "Books that Should Please as Christmas Gifts - Notable Contributions to Northern Verse - Warp and Woof by Mary H.J.Henderson". *Aberdeen Press and Journal*. 19 December 1929. p. 9.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Laura Sandeman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Sandeman) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laura_Sandeman?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.