Murray, a fellow doctor and suffragette. Suffrage movement Her dissatisfaction with the standard of medical care available to women led her to political activism through the suffrage movement. She was the secretary of the Edinburgh National Society for Women's Suffrage in the 1890s, supported by her father, and while she was working toward her medical degree. Inglis worked closely with Millicent Fawcett, the leader of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (the NUWSS), speaking at events all over the country. By 1906, "Elsie Inglis was to the Scottish groups what Mrs. Fawcett was to the English; when they too formed themselves that year into a Federation, it was Elsie who became its secretary." From the early years of the Scottish Federation of Women's Suffrage Societies, Inglis was honorary secretary from 1906 and continued in this role right up to 1914. Inglis spoke in support of suffrage in 1907 with Chrystal MacMillan and Alice Low as fellow speakers, at a NUWSS meeting in Edinburgh's Café Oak Hall. Jessie Scott from New Zealand, where women already had the vote was also a guest speaker. A century later, in The Lancet, Lucy Inglis (a relative) noted Inglis had said 'fate had placed her in the van of a great movement' and was a 'keen fighter'. Inglis's personal style was described by fellow suffragist Sarah Mair as 'courteous, sweet-voiced' with 'the eyes of a seer', a 'radiant smile' when her lips were not 'firmly closed with a fixity of purpose such as would warn off unwarrantable opposition or objections...' First World War Although she had already had turned 50 at the start of the conflict, it was during the First World War that she made her mark. Despite government resistance, Inglis established the Scottish Women's Hospitals for Foreign Service Committee, an organisation funded by the women's suffrage movement to provide all female staffed relief hospitals for the Allied war effort, including doctors and technical staff (paid) and others including nurses and transport staff and others as volunteers. Inglis wanted a neutral name in order to attract "wide support from men and women". but was able to use her connections to the suffrage movement to raise money for what became the Scottish Women's Hospitals (SWH). Inglis approached the Scottish Red Cross to help with funding, but the head of the Scottish Red Cross, Sir George Beatson denied Inglis’ request stating that the Red Cross