Stella Ambache obituary

On 5 July 1948 a young woman’s fledgling enterprise was nationalised. It suited her well: her business was a general practice in Chislehurst, Kent, which became part of the newly established National Health Service. Through thick (paperwork and reorganisations) and thin (resources), Dr Stella Ambache was a lifelong champion of the NHS.

Stella, my aunt, who has died aged 98, was the first female GP in Chislehurst, working for 25 years in a sole practice from her home. Born in Lastingham, North Yorkshire, she was the youngest of four children of Julian Cornes, an Indian Civil Service judge, and his wife, Lilian (nee Marshall). At the age of 15, she told her father that she wanted to be a nurse. He replied: “A doctor would be more fun.”