Helen Mackenzie and our Institution’s Early Role in Promoting Public Health
Helen, Lady Leslie Mackenzie CBE (13 April 1859 - 25 September 1945) was a Scottish suffragist, pioneering social work educator and public health campaigner. In the first half of the 20th century, she was greatly involved with our institution, chairing it from 1943-1945.
She was married to Dr William Leslie Mackenzie who was the Scottish Local Government Board’s first medical inspector. They collaborated on a 1903 Royal Commission for Scotland report on the health of school children in Edinburgh. Helen organised the studies and wrote the reports, and was present while her doctor husband examined the children. The report demonstrated conclusively that there was inverse relationship between affluence and children's health. Mackenzie and her husband argued that teachers should be trained in health issues.
Many of their recommendations were adopted into the 1908 Education (Scotland) Act. Among other things, the Act introduced free school meals for needy children and centralised the organisation of domestic education, which was a major milestone in the development of home economics in schools. Together, these legal provisions helped improve the health and wellbeing of children and families.
She was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1933 for her work with women and children.
For more on the ways that our institution helped improve the health of the nation, view our article on QMU during the two world wars.
