Mercy's family
Mercy's great aunt, Matilda Clerk, was the first Ghanaian woman to receive a scholarship to study abroad, the second Ghanaian woman and fourth West African woman to obtain a university degree.
Matilda was born in 1916 in British-colonial Ghana, to a prestigious Presbyterian family. She excelled as a young student, becoming the first Ghanaian woman to take the intermediate preliminary course in basic medical science in 1942, and the only student – man or woman – to pass the course in that particular year. She was awarded her a medical scholarship to study at the University of Edinburgh for these achievements.
After graduating, Matilda obtained a Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from University College London. She returned to Ghana in 1951 to work in public health, taking on various impressive roles across the Civil Service and regional Health Offices. She also worked alongside fellow Edinburgh graduate Susan de Graft-Johnson, Ghana’s first woman physician. Component 1 (carousel/grid) – Matilda Clerk matriculation documents
Overcoming barriers
Matilda’s road to qualifying as a doctor was not straightforward. After leaving school, she attended Achimota College and qualified as a teacher. The intermediate preliminary course in basic medical science was initially denied to Matilda on the basis of gender, but her father successfully petitioned the Governor to allow her participation. She was recommended for a scholarship to study abroad by the Principal of Achimota College and the Accra Medical Department, finally allowing her to matriculate at Edinburgh.
You can explore the recommendation letters and her matriculation record below.
Student experience
Matilda Clerk’s graduating remarks page, filled out by her professors, gives an insight into Matilda’s student experience, and the harsh attitudes of staff that she faced.
|
||||||
| Object reference | Matilda Clerk Graduation Record, Identifier: EUA IN1/ADS/STA/8 |
|---|
In this recording, Mercy explains how the archives gave her an insight into the culture shock Matilda must have experienced, moving away from home to study in a new city as a black woman in a predominantly white, male institution.
|