THERE is almost a staged quality to this picture of a nurse in one of the spotless operating theatres of Glasgow's Victoria Infirmary.

Breathe deeply and you can almost smell the scent of carbolic soap and clothing starch.

The nurse, looking very like an extra from Downton Abbey, positively glows in her elegant uniform.

As much as the First World War brought many medical breakthroughs, with so many men away at the front, it also changed the lives of millions of women, with many finding paid employment for the first time.

One such female pioneer was Marion Gilchrist (1864-1952). The first woman to graduate in medicine from Glasgow University, Dr Gilchrist carried out pioneering eye surgery at the Victoria during the war.