Mary Cunningham, health visitor, and babies

Category

Library Item

Item no

32470

Title

Mary Cunningham, health visitor, and babies at Spylaw Park picnic

Artist / maker

Unknown

Date

1936

Size

7.4 x 6.2cm

Type

Photograph

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

The picnic was held on Saturday 27th June 1936 as part of the Hutchison Shield competition. Women attending mothercraft classes in Edinburgh were invited to submit essays on mothercraft with the winner bring awarded the shield. the other 192 entrants were invited to a picnic in Spylaw Park.

This image comes from a photograph album donated to Edinburgh Libraries covering the nursing career of Miss Mary Morag Bird Cunningham. Mary was born in 1888 and at the age of 22 began training at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary (RIE) as a nurse. Once qualified in 1915 she moved to the Edinburgh Royal Maternity Hospital (ERMH) and obviously found her calling in the care of children. In 1917 she became one of Edinburgh's first health visitors as part of the introduction of Edinburgh's Child Welfare Scheme. The album contains early photographs of the RIE and ERMH as well as images of child health care clinics that she worked in during the 1930s at Portobello and Prestonfield.

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Related subjects

People > Children > Babies

People > Children > Girls

People > Health and safety > Health Visitors

Places > Edinburgh areas > Colinton

Places > Scotland > Edinburgh