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From article [Hannah Billig] Captain Hannah Billig, MBE, GM (4 October 1901 – 11 July 1987) was a British-Jewish doctor who worked in the East End of London. Her popularity with her patients, and her war-time efforts, led to her being called "The Angel of Cable Street".

Edits: Captain Hannah Billig, MBE, GM (4 October 1901 – 11 July 1987) was a British-Jewish doctor who worked in the East End of London. Billig was popular amongst her patients and she most notably did exceptional medical work during World War II that earned her honors and awards. After returning from aiding the war efforts, she continued her medical practice on Cable Street before retiring to Israel, even continuing her medical work there until her death.

Childhood

... and grew up on Brick Lane where Jewish friends had taken them in. The Billig family had six children, four of which became doctors. Her brother Levi was a famous Arab scholar and another sister was a nurse. Growing up, parents Barnet and Millie encouraged their children to spend their time reading instead of playing in the streets. Her mother Millie stayed home with the children, managing the household, while husband Barnet worked as a newsagent rolling cigarettes and eventually as a cigar roller. At the age of 11, Billig received a scholarship to attend Myrdle Street Central School in Stepney. During those years, she remained at the top of her class which eventually earned her a scholarship to London University.

Medical Career

She trained at the Royal Free Hospital and the Royal London Hospital, qualifying as a doctor in 1925. At this time, female doctors were not as widespread as they are today, it was common belief that women shouldn't study medicine. She worked for two years at the Jewish Maternity Hospital on Underwood Street. In 1927, she set up a small clinic near Cable Street, moving her surgery around the corner to a Georgian townhouse at 198 Cable Street in 1935, where a blue plaque commemorates her work. She was also on call as a police doctor which meant she often had to leave in the middle of whatever she was doing, even surgery. She used to cycle to her patients, with her black bag, but later she drove a Morris Cowley car. Billig was fond of children, encouraging them to bring books for her to read to them and letting some carry her doctor bag- which was considered a great honor by the children.

Her daily schedule was based around surgeries in the morning and evening, home visits in the afternoon and the occasional night visit for patients giving birth or falling ill in the middle of the night. Billig ran into problems when she realized the area she was based in was poor and people had trouble affording the consultation and medicine fees. There wasn't a national health service so it was common for people to avoid calling on a doctor until their symptoms were extremely serious.

Awards

For her courage and bravery, Billig was awarded the George Medal, the highest honor for civilians . In 1942 she joined the Indian Army Medical Corps as a Captain and was posted to Calcutta. For her work with injured soldiers and refugees in Assam, Billig was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1945.

Pfrattone (talk) 06:23, 1 December 2017 (UTC)