At the royal college of Physicians
and surgeons of Glasgow
and surgeons of Glasgow
For 32 years, Dr Alexander Dale worked at Mearnskirk Hospital. Having studied at the University of Glasgow, he graduated M.B., Ch.B. in 1925. He was House Surgeon at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow, working alongside Professor Archibald Young who was Regius Professor of Surgery at the University of Glasgow and had been taught by Joseph Lister, the founder of antiseptic surgery.
Dale began his career at Mearnskirk in 1929 as Orthopaedic Surgeon and Assistant Superintendent to Dr John A Wilson. Being an orthopaedic surgeon, Dale would have treated many bone and joint conditions affecting the patients of the hospital. Tuberculosis is a complex disease mainly targetting the lungs, but can also spread to other parts of the body, including bones and joints. This often resulted in abscesses and bone deformities that required surgical intervention. The hospital also saw patients who suffered from infantile paralysis, better known as poliomyelitis, which would also have required surgical treatment in severe cases.
Upon Dr Wilson's death in 1946, Dr Dale became Superintendent of the hospital. Alongside him was his wife, Dr Elizabeth Dale. Elizabeth gained her medical qualifications at the University of Glasgow, graduating M.B. Ch.B. in 1929. Her first post on qualification was at Redlands Hospital for Women, Glasgow. Following this she did locum work on the Isle of Arran. She stopped working in 1932 when she got married to Alexander, returning to work later in the decade as a general practitioner in Newton Mearns. This she continued until Alexander became Medical Superintendent at Mearnskirk in 1946, switching her priority to supporting the hospital through work and charitable organisations.
Many of the photographs depicting the daily lives of patients and staff of Mearnskirk belonged to Dr Elizabeth Dale.