Mary Percy Jackson

Dr. Mary Percy Jackson, O.C., A.O.E., Ch.B., LL.D. (27 December 1904–6 May 2000) was an English medical practitioner in the Canadian state of Alberta based in Keg River and the Peace River Country for 45 years.

Background
Mary Evangeline Percy was one of the eldest of four children. Her father, Thomas Arthur Percy was a woollen merchant and taylor in the town of Dudley, England. Her father was unusual for the time in that he believed his daughters should be as educated as his sons. Many of Mary Percy's family, including her mother Amy Jane Percy (née Chilton) were school teachers.

Despite the family tradition of teaching, at the age of eleven Mary decided she wanted to be a medical doctor. No-one, including Mary herself, knows why she made this choice—her father suggesting that she would have make an excellent lawyer because she argued so much! However, in 1915, women were not allowed to be lawyers...

Education
Mary proceeded to pursue her chosen education and in 1927 qualified as a doctor from Birmingham University, taking the Queen's Prize for achieving the highest marks in her class. This is partly because the professors had believed that if women were going to learn medicine they should learn it properly. They gave the women all the worst cases; the really grim stuff. This was something Mary was thankful for and provided an excellent training for her later work.

Mary wanted to work in obstetrics in Calcutta, India, a post that only came up every third year. As Mary graduated in "the wrong year", she had to find other work to fill in the time until she would be able to apply for the Calcutta job. A colleague drew her attention to a job advertisement in the British Medical Journal. It was seeking a female doctor to serve in Alberta, Canada.

Strong energetic Medical Women with post-graduate experience in Midwifery, wanted for country work in Western Canada, under the Provincial Government Department of Health. Apply in first instance to Dr. E.M. Johnstone, c/o Fellowship of the Maple Leaf, 13, Victoria Street, London, SW1.
 * February 23, 1929.

In reply to Mary Percy's request for further information from Dr. Emma Johnstone, the reply added that " The ability to ride a saddle horse would be a great advantage ". Mary had previously taken up horseriding at Sutton Coldfield Riding School in a desire for more exercise; her family said she rarely, if ever, left the indoor arena. When she learnt that Alberta had the Rocky Mountains Mary was keen to go. Little did she realise just how far north she was to be stationed, or that the Rockies were quite so far away!

Voyage from England
After graduating, two years were spent practising at Birmingham Children's Hospital before her successful application. The Fellowship of the Maple Leaf organisation were to pay her passage. Mary Percy travelled to stay with and meet the organisation's founder Canon P. J. Andrews and his wife. Also meeting their friend Dr. Johnstone, with whom Mary had had her earlier correspondence, she received the advice " Whatever you do, go to the Dental Hospital a get yourself a week's practice pulling teeth! ".

She travelled to Southampton and boarded the S.S. Empress of Scotland for a week-long voyage to Quebec City and passing around Cape Race on the 13 July 1929. A further week-long railway journey took her westwards past Ottawa and Lake Superior across the expanse of Canada as dense forest turned to open prairie.

Her companions for the sea voyage—also funded by the Fellowship of the Maple Leaf—were Dr. Helen O'Brien who would serve Lac La Biche and Dr. Elizabeth Rodger who was heading to work at Lesser Slave Lake to the north-west of Edmonton.

Arriving at the end of a three month drought in Central Alberta, on 21 July she was introduced to her job by the Minister of Health, the Hon. George Hoadley, at a meeting in Edmonton. Following this meeting she spent a week with the Travelling Clinic, reaching some 50 miles north further north to Clyde.

Her journey concluded by train 300 miles from Edmonton, north to Peace River Town and along the Peace River aboard D.A Thomas accompanied by Kate Brighty, the Superintendent of Public Health Nursing.

Canada
Mary was based in Battle River Prairie. She had a remote house, in the middle of the 400 square mile area she was to serve. The property was far from clean when she arrived, there were no shelves for her medical supplies (or anything else) and the only place for a patient to lie down was her own bed. In these early days there were eight deliveries of post... a year—one delivery per month for the summer months when the river was not frozen. Until the much later construction of the Mackenzie Highway a decade later there were no roads to speak of.

Mary was from a family who also had a maid, so was not used to cooking nor is such harsh circumstances as to be found in Canada on her arrival. Mary had grown up during the First World War, a time when food was in short supply, with not enough available for girls to have cookery lessons with at school. Cooking at her new home was not easy and happened on a wood burning stove that needed almost continual stoking to prevent the flames from going out—for quite a time, Mary Percy relied heavily on her Primus stove.

The newly arrived doctor began her practice immediately. Pneumonia was common in the area, but much of the work was from accidents including gunshot wounds, falls and axe wounds. There were also many childbirths, though the births that Mary attended were often " the kind that would turn you grey "—most of the men in the area expecting their wives to deliver their baby without the assistance of a doctor!

Marriage
One of Mary Percy's early patients was Frank Jackson, a trapper who had contracted blood poisoning in his hand. He had treated himself for a time but sought out the new doctor when the infection started to spread. Mary opened up the infection, bandaged the wound and left him to sleep. They soon found they had much in common, including finding that they shared love of classical music as they listened to Puccini playing on the Gramophone in temperatures of -40°.

Following their meeting Frank Jackson started to find excuses to travel and see Mary. They started courting and were married 10 March 1931 in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police barracks at Battle River.

Mary moved to her husband's homestead at Keg River; a settlement that was even more remote than Battle River! Now a married women and with the move, Mary Jackson lost her wages as the government decided that there wasn't a need for a doctor in Keg River. In those days, husbands were supposed to "provide for their wives". Even without the income, this didn't stop Mary from practicing her medicine.

The Indians and Métis in the small community were remarkably fit, but were being decimated by Tuberculosis. Mary managed to almost eradicate the spread of TB in the area with preventative techniques. This was before there were any drugs to treat TB and one of the solutions involved stopping people with TB from spitting on the floor. Prior to Mary's arrival the people had had little idea about germs and how they could spread disease.

Arrival of the road
In 1935 work started to create the road that is now the Mackenzie Highway. It was during the Great Depression and the government had created a work programme. The program provided employment for the unemployed and helped to build new infrastructure. Conditions for the labouring men were grim and their canned food supplies often frozen solid. Mary saw herself treating many cases of frostbite, more than she had seen in the previous 6 years.

The creation of the road altered life in the north significantly. Transporting patients to hospital was now possible and it became easier to get medical supplies. It wasn't until after the Second World War that the road was passable in summer, following when the frost had melted and the ground was no longer swampy. The road created work for Mary, particularly in the early days when the road was dust. In summer, drivers would follow the dust cloud of the vehicle in front (which could last a couple of miles) as a way to find the road. Sometimes they would end up crashing into the vehicle in front.

Later life
Mary and Frank enjoyed various holidays towards the end of Frank's life, experiencing life away from the harsh North of Canada. Frank Jackson eventually died on 1 September 1979.

At first following her husband's death, Mary found there was little point in living, but she started doing more lectures and talks. She also visited her family in Britain several times, often taking some of her grandchildren with her. Whilst in England she often stayed with her brother Arthur Leslie Percy who by then had retired to Worcestershire, not far from the town of Dudley where they had grown up together.

Mary had many interesting stories, both from her own life and the extensive reading she undertook. She had a very down to Earth attitude and spoke plainly. She said that she had no fear of being dead, describing:


 * "It's not being dead that one is afraid of, but a process of dying after a stroke or a heard attack. When you've almost got one foot in heaven, it's a bit annoying to be brought back so you can do the whole think again slowly.  Doctors say they don't want to play God, but if a person has died suddenly and then is brought back to life, that is playing God."

Recognitions

 * 1929, Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Birmingham, UK and the Queen's Prize for being top of her class.
 * 1953, Master Farm Family of Alberta award for proficiency (awarded to only five farming familes in total).
 * 1963, Dr Mary Jackson School named after her and opened for 40 pupils in Keg River, Alberta.
 * 1967, Centennial Medal of Canada "in recognition of valuable service to the nation".
 * 1975, Alberta Achievement Award, together with her husband, Frank Jackson "in recognition of outstanding srevice in the community".
 * 1975, Woman of the Year by the Voice of Native Women.
 * 1976, Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta.
 * 1983, Alberta Order of Excellence.
 * 1989, Officer in the Order of Canada.

In 1955 she received a type-written letter dated 28 July 1955 from Clarence House, on behalf of the British Queen Mother: CLARENCE HOUSE S. W. 1. 28th. July 1955. Dear Dr. Percy-Jackson, I am commanded by Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother to write and say that Her Majesty commands me to send you a brief word of appreciation for the truly great work that you are doing in and around Keg River. I am to explain that Queen Elizabeth reads the magazine of the Fellowship of the Maple Leaf and Her Majestywas deeply impressed to read of your great work, to alleviate suffering and to bring comfort to those who live in such isolated and often almost intolerably difficult surroundings. Queen Elizabeth knows full well that such work cannot be carried out without real courage and self-sacrifice, and I am to finish this short letter by saying how much Her Majesty hopes that you may go from strength to strength in your great undertaking, Yours sincerely, Katherine Seymour.

Triva
According to Mary's brother Leslie, one of the reasons that the advert stated a requirement for a female doctor was that someone would be expected to pay for a housekeeper should a male doctor was appointed. In those days it was believed that "men couldn't be expected to cook or clean".