THIS IS A TALE OF BARBARA STIMSON AND HER PAL ACHSA BEAN, two doctors shunned by the U.S. Army as medical officers, and then commissioned in the British Royal Army Medical Corps during World War II.
I learned about them from Catherine Musemeche’s “Major Barbara’s War,” Smithsonian Magazine, March 2025. Here, in Parts 1 and 2 today and tomorrow, are tidbits from this article.
Dr. Barbara Bartlett Stimson, 1898–1986, American orthopedic surgeon, British Major in the Royal Army Medical Corp, specialist in internal-fixation treatment of orthopedic injuries. This image, Rome, 1945, and others from Smithsonian.
Major Barbara’s Upbringing. Catherine Musemeche describes, “ ‘Babbie’ was a spirited child who would march up and down the dining room table at suppertime. From a young age she demonstrated a preference for tools over dolls, following her father around the house as he made repairs. He encouraged Stimson’s natural talent by giving her a set of tools at Christmas and arranging for her to take lessons in how to use them. ‘Father was miles ahead of the rest of the world in an educational philosophy,’ she recounted for a profile in the 1947 book Women Doctors Today. ‘We were never told, “You mustn’t do that—it’s only for boys.” ’ Stimson’s mother also embraced this thinking and ‘had sworn a little swear that any daughter of hers would do what she wanted to do.’ ”
Her Education. Musemeche continues, “After graduating from Vassar in 1919, Stimson entered Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons as a member of only the third class to admit women. She graduated with honors in 1923 and secured a surgical internship at Columbia University, where she met William Darrach, a professor of orthopedic surgery. Darrach encouraged her to pursue orthopedic surgery. ‘I have the hands for it—large, strong, mechanical hands,’ Stimson later said in Women Doctors Today. Darrach mentored her throughout her career.”
Women are Only Nurses. In the 1930s, less than five percent of doctors in the U.S. were female. Musemeche recounts, “In 1940, as the war in Europe intensified, Stimson, now 42 and with more than a decade of surgical experience, learned that a volunteer group of orthopedic surgeons was organizing to treat war victims in Britain. She submitted an application, only to learn that the only women allowed on the trip would be nurses.”
Why do a sense a timeliness in this?
Enter Dr. Esther Lovejoy. Musemeche continues, “Anxious to find more doctors, the Red Cross turned to physician Esther Lovejoy to identify ten American women physicians to travel to England and serve in Britain’s Emergency Medical Services. Lovejoy, then in her early 70s, had previously worked with the Red Cross to set up hospitals and clinics in France during World War I, staffed by American women doctors who had volunteered after being rejected by the military.”
Dr. Esther Clayson Pohl Lovejoy, 1869–1967, American physician playing a significant role in public health reform, suffrage and politics.
Dr. Lovejoy compiled a list of 2500 qualified women physicians. Stimson was among the 500 who volunteered to work overseas. Musemeche recounts, “When Lovejoy asked Stimson to recommend another woman doctor to go along, Stimson suggested her good friend Achsa Bean, whom she would remain close to, professionally and personally, for the rest of her life.”
Dr. Achsa Mabel Bean, 1900–1975, American ob.-gyn. physician, British First Lieutenant in the Royal Army Medical Corp, working with Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Dr. Bean’s Meandering Path to Medicine. “Unlike Stimson,” Musemeche writes, “Bean, a Maine native, was raised in modest circumstances and had taken a meandering path to medicine. She had taught high school, run the town library and worked as a camp counselor before putting herself through the University of Maine, graduating in 1922. After obtaining her master’s degree, she spent six years working for the University of Maine as the dean of women and as an assistant professor of zoology. She finally enrolled in the University of Rochester School of Medicine and graduated in 1936 at age 36. Afterward, she interned in obstetrics and gynecology, and in 1938 Vassar hired her to work in the college health department, where she crossed paths with Stimson, a Vassar trustee. Bean, like Stimson, appeared to have the toughness and resilience required to withstand a war zone.”
Big Ben—And Pearl Harbor. In early December 1941, the two had accepted an invitation to stay the weekend at Cliveden House, home of Lady Astor, the American-born Nancy Witcher. Musemeche recounts, “After dinner on the Sunday night of their visit, an elderly butler tottered into the spacious hall with a small radio that he placed on the dining table. Stimson later recalled the momentous event: ‘We heard Big Ben strike nine’ and then ‘Pearl Harbor has been bombed. America is at war!’ ”
Drs. Stimson and Bean opted to stay in Britain. “We were already 3,000 miles nearer the actual fighting than we would have been had we returned home,” Stimson later wrote. “And as the need for doctors in the British Armed Forces was very great, Dr. Bean and I decided to join the Royal Army Medical Corps [RAMC], if they would have us.”
Tomorrow in Part 2, Dr. Stimson saves lives and limbs, jams piano in a classical trio, plays bridge—and subs in a cricket game. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2025
