In memoriam : Edith Gertrude Knight 1896 - 1995

Abstract

Edith Gertrude Knight was the first female to be registered as a Veterinary Surgeon in South Africa and the first female veterinarian to practice in South Africa. She was registered in Durban, Natal [now KZN] on 8 January 1927. Edith Gertrude Knight was born in Bruton, Somerset on 13 April 1896. After gaining her Agriculture Diploma from Reading University in 1918 she worked with a veterinary surgeon who encouraged her to become a vet even though the RCVS did not admit women at that time. She submitted 3 consecutive applications to the RCVS who were finally obliged to alter their Charter in January 1920 to allow the admission of women. She entered Liverpool University Veterinary School in October 1920 as a second-year student, having been granted exemption of most of the first-year subjects because of her Agricultural Diploma. Although she was not to become the first British woman to be registered as a veterinary surgeon (the first was Aleen Cust), Edith Knight was the first woman to take the British veterinary degree, qualifying with MRCVS on 19 December 1923 and BVSc in December 1925. In January 1926 Miss E G Knight, Veterinary Surgeon and 29 years of age, came to Durban in Natal from London. Edith applied in 1926 to be registered as a Veterinary Surgeon by the Natal Veterinary Board, obtaining registration as a veterinarian in Natal under Act 21 of 1899. The Board registered “Knight (Miss) E.G., M.R.C.V.S. 1923” as a Veterinary Surgeon on 8 January 1927. Her Registration was published in G.N. [Government Notice] 69. She was the first female veterinarian to be registered in South Africa and her Certificate granted her the right to practice and work in Natal. She married Ernest Leonard Taylor on 12 January 1929 in Bath; Ernest had been a fellow BVSc student at Liverpool and had specialised in parasitology. Edith’s practice flourished and she took on a partner, Marjorie Jordan and remained active in the veterinary field. Edith and Ernest Taylor and their 3 sons continued to live in Dorking. This pioneer in the veterinary world and the first woman veterinary surgeon to be registered in South Africa was independent and active until she died on 23 March 1995, 3 weeks before her 99th birthday.