Fehily, Lydia (1934-EOP)

updated March 26, 2014

Lydia Fehily, 1950 photo. Credit: The Sydney Morning Herald.

Lydia Nicolaivna [possibly Nikolaevna] (née Pechterewa [possibly Pechtereva]). MD, University of Vienna; State Medical Diploma, Japan July 8, 1935. Harbin [n.d.]-1934, private practitioner. Hong Kong 1934-ca.1959. Palma, Majorca nlt.1959. Occasional cruise ship doctor, MS Anking (The China Navigation Co., Ltd.) 1950.

HONG KONG 1934. Registered to practice Hong Kong October 30, 1935 through EOP. Infant welfare worker, Lady Medical Officer, Maternity and Infant Welfare 1939. Midwives Board (vice Agnes Lilias Jenkins Dovey, resigned) February 22, 1936, three years term. Inspector of Schools February 22, 1936, three years term; May 25, 1939 - EOP. Residence, address 1: #23 Lyemoon Building, Kowloon 1935; address 2: #151 The Peak 1941. Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, interned with husband Joseph Patrick Fehily, Kowloon Hotel 1941-42, released because of their Irish nationality (and since Ireland had declared itself neutral); remainder of wartime whereabouts unknown (Joseph Patrick Fehily escaped to England via Macau and Chungking in 1943 and returned to Hong Kong in 1945.) 

d/o Nicolas Pechterewa [possibly Pechtereva], of Harbin [possibly from Russia originally].
m. Joseph Patrick Fehily, February 9, 1934, St. Joseph's Church, Hong Kong.

Publications: Infantile Beri-beri in Hong Kong, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Medical Society, 1940. Chinese food prejudices as a contributory cause of high infantile mortality: A paper read before the Hong Kong Nurses and Midwives Association, May 20, 1941. The differential diagnosis of infantile beriberi, Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, September 1943, Vol. #37, Issue #2, pp.111-123. Human-Milk Intoxication Due to B1 Avitaminosis, The British Medical Journal November 4, 1944, pp.590-591. Nutritional Deficiencies in Hong Kong before Invasion, The British Medical Journal, October 6, 1945,pp.468-470. What the Russians Eat, The Canadian Medical Journal, September 1946, Vol. #55, Issue #3, pp.305-306. Deficiency Diseases in Hong Kong, The British Medical Journal, February 8, 1947, pp.220-222.

[According to Fehily, there were five other European women doctors existing in Hong Kong in 1950. I was unable to find a document(s) that provides a name list as such. The following doctors were here during the Japanese occupation; some of them might have stayed until 1950. Needless to day, there were others who came to Hong Kong after the war. European women doctors existing in Hong Kong 1941-45 : Lydia Fehily, Agnes Lilias Jenkins Dovey, Mary (Ellison) King, Gwendolyn Ruth Nash, Rachel Elizabeth Smalley, Alta Frances (Thompson) Stout, and Annie Sydenham.

[Breast or Bottle? Wrote, Fehily (The British Medical Journal, May 7, 1960, p.1434):

"I fully agree with those who insist that human milk is' the natural and best food for infants. However, I should like to add, "provided the lactating mother is healthy and takes the food intended by nature." With the advent of civilization it is rarely so, as much of out food is highly milled or processed in various ways before consumption - for example, white bread, white rice, and alcoholic drinks."]

Selected bibliography: The British Medical Journal, May 7, 1960, p.1434. The Hong Kong Government Gazette, February 28, 1936, #197, #202; June 23, 1939, #500; May 9, 1941, #558. Hong Kong War Diary [internet]. The Hong Kong Telegraph December 8, 1933, p.23; February 12, 1934, p.7. The Sydney Morning Herald, May 25, 1950, p.13.

[Proactive research ended March 7, 2014.]