A Statue for Dr Elsie Inglis Campaign

Progress to date

After raising our initial target of £50,000 to commission the statue for Dr Elsie Inglis on the Royal Mile, we are stunned by the current rise in the costs for bronze to create a statue.

Our mission for the campaign for ‘A Statue for Elsie Inglis’ is to ensure the heritage and history of Dr Elsie Inglis is commemorated with an outstanding statue.  

The site of the statue will be at the High Street location on Edinburgh’s historic Royal Mile where her hospice where Dr Inglis worked tirelessly for the ordinary women and children of Edinburgh.  This will be the first statue of a woman on the Royal Mile amongst a dozen, honouring men.   

Elsie’s statue will become an enduring and immutable memorial to one of Scotland’s greatest women.

How you can get involved 

To be a part of our historic campaign, you can contribute now to our Crowdfunder by clicking the ‘donate’ link.

Please consider sharing our story and helping raise awareness of our campaign. Our vision is bold and every like, share and word passed by mouth will help us raise the funds.

History of the Campaign

In 2017 The Rt. Hon. Lord Provost of the City of Edinburgh, Frank Ross, set up a fundraising campaign with support from the OneCity Trust, Mercat Tours International and Edinburgh Evening News, following the 100th anniversary of Dr Elsie Inglis’ death, to commemorate her life with a statue in Edinburgh.

Who was Elsie?

Dr Elsie Inglis (1864 – 1917) was an early pioneering Scottish physician and surgeon. In 1894, Elsie set up her own medical practice and in 1904, a hospice for women in Edinburgh. She was an ardent suffragist, philanthropist and campaigner for women’s medical education.

In 1914 she defied the War Office after being told ‘Go home and sit still’ and founded the Scottish Women’s Hospitals for Foreign Service. Elsie raised the equivalent of £53 million in today’s money to fund greatly needed medical care for those on the frontline. Over 1000 female doctors, surgeons and nurses, VADs and drivers volunteered and travelled to 7 countries including France and Serbia, helping the Allied war effort where thousands of soldiers and civilians were caught up in the horror of war.

Dr Inglis died of cancer aged 53 and did not live to see peace in 1918, nor the granting of the first vote to British women in the same year. Elsie broke down barriers and proved time and again that women will always be an integral part of society. She continually praised the work carried out by her many volunteers, refusing to think of her effort as any greater than theirs. Elsie’s humbleness about the great things that she achieved is why we feel so strongly about remembering her legacy and commemorate and celebrate her life and work.