Recently we here in Jersey were treated to a lovely little playlet which portrayed six ‘forgotten’ Jersey women, those that defied convention and helped others to follow on more easily. I’ve blogged before about the ‘Surreal Sisters’ Lucie Schwob and Suzanne Malherbe. Others to feature were Caroline Trachy (politics), Elinor Glyn (literature) and Florence Boot née Rowe (philanthropist).
In truth, Lilian Mary Grandin was never entirely forgotten, but maybe one Jersey resident in a hundred would recognise the name today. We think nothing these days of women doctors, but it was noteworthy in the extreme until fairly recent times.
Ms Grandin was born in Regent Road in 1876, where a plaque commemorates that fact. She was educated at Jersey Ladies College. A devout Methodist, she was determined to serve as a missionary. To this end she studied medicine and chemistry in Edinburgh, midwifery in Dublin (no doubt at the Rotunda) and tropical and eye diseases in London. She was sent off to Yunnan Province in China where she was to spend what remained of her life.

Pupils from Jersey College for Girls visit Grandin’s grave in 2014.
In Yunnan she set up a clinic and leper colony and trained many Chinese women as nurses. In 1912 she married the author Edwin Dingle but continued with her profession.
In 1924 she developed typhus symptoms, but gave her remaining dose of typhus medicine to a patient. She died a short time later, aged just 48.

Commemorative stamps issued in 1976
The clinic she founded in Yunnan is now a hospital which treats 60,000 patients a year. There Grandin is remembered as the Angel of Zhoutong.
Interesting article – always good to read about strong women who led the way for others in what were difficult times for us ladies.
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Yes indeed ER. It must have taken great fortitude to follow a certain path in defiance of prevailing convention and much disapproval. Yet I suppose Ms Grandin hardly thought that she was paving the way for others. She’d be surprised to know that she’s remembered at all.
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What a remarkable woman! I am always so intrigued by people who worked with lepers. It’s such a foreign concept these days. More impressive though, was her giving away her last dose of medicine. Wow.
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A life certainly well-lived. A strong-willed woman who helped show that there are no barriers to following one’s vocation. And brave and selfless to the end.
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A truly remarkable lady and doctor – and what an amazing legacy she left behind in Yunnan!
One can’t ever read enough of inspiring women – thank you for sharing about Dr. Grandin here, Roy!
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Yes Annika, a strong lady in pursuing her convictions against the conventions of the time. The play, featuring the six women in an intimate theatre setting, was quite inspiring.
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I love that they’ve commemorated her! We’re still working on honoring our female luminati here in the States. We’ve a lot of catching up to do . . .
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It’s hard work though, isn’t it Kristine? Turning the tide generally against male patriarchy. I do sense though that things are changing for the better in that respect. Our girls need to have role models like Lilian Grandin to show the way.
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I couldn’t agree more! I can’t wait until the next generation end when hopefully, we are more equally represented. We will see if I’m around to see it :-).
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