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Medical Doctor
Hyacinth Isabel Lightbourne was born in the St. Thomas parish of Jamaica in
1909. She moved to England in about 1920 and studied at the North London
Collegiate School before entering University College, London. She trained as a
medical doctor and in 1934 the Gleaner stated that 'she now holds the degree of
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Academic Diploma in Public Health,
Diploma in Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The Doctor has taken post graduate
course at the West London Hospital, the Brompton Chest Hospital, the Moorfields
Hospital and a Rheumatic Clinic.'
She moved back to Jamaica in the late 1930s, where she established a successful and influential career in medicine. By 1946 Hyacinth Lightbourne was the Medical Officer (Health) for the parish of St. Thomas. On 7 April 1956 Hyacinth Lightbourne died in a car accident in Jamaica. After her death the Hyacinth Lightbourne Memorial Fund was established. Lightbourne has been remembered in Jamaican public history with organisations and associations named after her including the Hyacinth Lightbourne Memorial Association and Hyacinth Lightbourne Visiting Nursing Service.
Sources:
'Dr H.I. Lightbourne Coming Home on Visit', The Gleaner, 27 October 1934, p. 17.
'Fund Started: Hyacinth Lightbourne memorial planned. Lady Foot heads Committee', The Gleaner, 9 April 1956.
'Nursing Service May End: Hyacinth Lightbourne Memorial Association asks public support', The Gleaner, 10 August 1975
'Hyacinth Lightbourne Visiting Nursing Service - Professional Healthcare At Home', The Gleaner, 13 June 2012, jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20120613/news/news9.html
"Jamaica, Civil Registration, 1880-1999," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XNS8-P41 : 13 April 2015), Lightbourne, 29 Nov 1909, Birth; citing Yallahs, Saint Thomas, Jamaica, Registrar General's Department, Spanish Town; FHL microfilm 1,389,026
