Papers of Louie Cowie

The collection contains: correspondence; artefacts; pamphlets; and 35mm slides on Yemen and South Arabia (now in the Republic of Yemen).

Louie J F Cowie, Church of Scotland missionary in Yemen and South Arabia (now in the Republic of Yemen), came from Aberdeen. She went to Aden as a missionary nurse in 1933 after first spending time in Jerusalem studying Arabic. In Aden she was based in Sheikh Othman working in the mission's hospital until 1937 when she went to San'a the capital of Yemen. There she joined a small group working in the medical department of the Iman and stayed there for six years, with breaks for furlough and enforced leave after contracting typhus in 1942. In late 1943 the mission withdrew from San'a and Cowie returned to Aden and the work in the hospital and rural dispensaries. She was also involved in a training programme to teach young men how to set up and run dispensaries in their own areas. In early 1951 Cowie spent some time in Beihan then in 1952 moved there to set up a permanent clinic. She remained there for three years before returning to Sheikh Othman in 1955 to take charge of the hospital. She was in Aden for the birth of the Arab Church of South Arabia in 1961 and was also awarded an MBE. She finally retired and returned to Scotland in 1965.

Open to researchers. It is essential to arrange an appointment in advance to view the archive in order that someone can be available to help. Please contact us by email at is-crc@ed.ac.uk . Telephone the Centre on: 0131 650 8900. Postal address: Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh School of Divinity, New College, Mound Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2LX.

The material was donated to the Centre by Gladys Farquhar.

A paper list of items in the collection is available to researchers at the Centre.

Description originally written and researched by Caroline Brown in June 2001. This was added to Archives Hub in August 2012 by Louise Williams.

Reproduction of materials (for example by digital camera) is free for private research and educational use, although we ask researchers to sign an agreement. Please contact us for enquiries on using the material in a commercial setting, for which there will be a fee. Contact us by email at is-crc@ed.ac.uk . Telephone the Centre on: 0131 650 8900. Postal address: Centre for the Study of World Christianity, University of Edinburgh School of Divinity, New College, Mound Place, Edinburgh, EH1 2LX.

No further materials are expected to be added to the collection.