Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake DBE (15 August 1865 – 28 December 1925[1][2][3]) was a pioneering surgeon and one of the first British women to enter the world of modern medicine.

[4] During the First World War, many of the male surgical staff were deployed on foreign active service and Dr. Aldrich-Blake took on increased responsibility for the surgery, becoming consulting surgeon to the hospital.

[8] She held a chair position as a vice-president of the Section of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in 1924 that was a part of the British Medical Association.

[3] Aldrich-Blake's encouragement for women to join the medical field increased the school's population by almost double during the First World War.

[3] Aldrich-Blake died on 28 December 1925, aged 60, from cancer at home in Welsh Bicknor, having undergone several operations during previous weeks.

[3] The Dame Louisa Brandreth Aldrich-Blake Collection is located in the Royal Free Hospital's Archives Centre.

[4] Her career was highlighted in a 2015 exhibit specifically related to her actions in the First World War where she performed surgery on the front line and encouraged other women to join the field.

[9] In 2019, she was acknowledged with a Google Doodle for the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Bulgaria, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, and Iceland on the 154th anniversary of her birth.