photo #8281318

Elinor Hallé was born in Manchester in 1856. Her parents were the famous conductor Sir Charles Hallé and his first wife, Marie. Her older brother, Charles Edward Hallé, became a well-known painter. Elinor was ten years old when her mum died. Like her brother, Elinor had a love of art. She studied sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art in London and became especially skilled at designing and making medals. Her medal of Cardinal Newman won top prize at the 1885 International Inventions Exhibition. She was commissioned to make medals for a number of important awards, such as the 1890 Royal Geographical Society Medal and the insignia for the OBE. Elinor was 58 when the 1st World War broke out and so considered too old to be accepted for a nursing position. But she wanted to help somehow. Elinor had a sculptor friend, Anne Acheson from Northern Ireland, and together they saw soldiers returning from the war with broken limbs held together with only wooden splints tied on with bandages. These splints very often did not hold the bones in the correct position. As a result, the fracture healed badly. Being sculptors, Elinor and Anne had a deep understanding of human anatomy and how the body moves. So they volunteered to work for the Surgical Requisites Association. Together, they developed anatomically correct arm and leg cradles and boots made out of a papier maché (made from old sugar bags). These kept the bones in the right place much better than a splint and were soon in big demand. They had to make all shapes and sizes and soon workshops were opened in France and Britain just to make them. The papier maché supports were made using moulds made from plaster of Paris (another idea which came from the ladies' work as sculptors). By 1917, Elinor and Anne realised that plaster of Paris itself, applied directly to the patient’s bandaged limb, was even better, as it made for a personalised support for the limb and so helped the bones heal quicker. Thanks to the work of Elinor and Anne, by the end of the war, the idea of using plaster of Paris was adopted to treat soldiers with broken limbs. The method has been refined over the years, but the basic idea of a plaster cast is still in use today by the medical profession. Elinor and Anne were awarded a CBE after the war. Elinor died on 18th May, 1926. She may not be as famous as her music conductor father or painter brother, but many millions of people who’ve ever had a plaster cast have her (and Anne) to thank