From the WCH Archives
This Remembrance Day, the Archives of Women’s College Hospital (WCH) is recognizing the accomplishments of Dr. Jean Flatt Davey, WCH’s Head of the Department of Medicine (1950-1965) and the first female physician to be granted a commission in the medical branch of any Canadian armed forces.
Born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1909, Jean Davey desired to follow in the footsteps of her father, Dr. James Edgar Davey who had served as a military doctor during WWI with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in France, and later, as Hamilton’s Medical Officer of Health.
Dr. Davey graduated with a medical degree from the University of Toronto (UofT) in 1936, and then completed a residency at WCH specializing in internal medicine. In 1939 she joined the staff of WCH.
Two years after Canada entered World War II, Dr. Davey was approached by military officials and agreed to assist with the current war effort. While women had been allowed to enlist in the Canadian military beginning in 1885 during the North-West Rebellion, they initially were restricted to serving as nursing sisters.
In August 1941, Dr. Davey became the first female doctor to be granted a commission in the medical branch of any Canadian armed forces and the second woman to enlist in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).
After initially being stationed in Ottawa with the rank of Flight Officer, she was promoted to Squadron Officer and then to Squadron Leader. In her role, she was in complete charge of the health of RCAF’s Women’s Division. By 1944, the Women’s Division numbered approximately 17,000 airwomen serving in Canada, the United States, Newfoundland, Great Britain, and the West Indies. In addition to ensuring that all RCAF stations provided adequate medical care for every airwoman, she was also responsible for creating military policy related to the physical standards of female enlistment and policies on medical issues relevant to women such as pregnancy.
More than 50,000 women served in the Canadian armed forces during WWII. Dr. Davey was very proud of this achievement. As she explained in 1944,
“Now, women in uniform are such a common sight that one accepts them as a matter of course, and it’s a little difficult to look back and realize that this acceptance has not always been the case. Actually, the women have had three wars to fight, – the one against the Axis…; the one against men who didn’t want to see women inside any part of their military organization; and the war against that part of public opinion which considered that the terms “women in uniform” and “lady” could never be synonymous.”
On May 28, 1943, Dr. Davey became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her exemplary wartime service and served with the RCAF until her retirement from the military in May 1945. After the war, Dr. Davey returned to WCH as Associate Head of the Department of Medicine and then she was promoted to department head in 1950. When WCH became a teaching hospital affiliated with UofT, she was recognized as the first woman to head an academic department of medicine in Canada. Beginning in 1965 she served as Director of Medical Teaching in the Out-Patient Department until her retirement from WCH in 1973. That year she was also awarded the Order of Canada in recognition of her outstanding medical and military careers.
Today, WCH continues to recognize her contributions to teaching and service. In 1973 the Jean Davey Honorary Fund was established to support education and the dissemination of knowledge and information leading to improvements in patient care at WCH. The Dr. Jean Davey Rose Garden was created in 1976 as a “living tribute” to her dedication to WCH and can still be viewed today in the front garden of 76 Grenville Street.
Most recently, in 2021 during Veterans’ Week, the city of Ottawa unveiled “Jean Davey Drive” as an “opportunity to reflect upon and honour the individuals who fought to protect our country and city,” as Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson explained.