Edinburgh care home resident reunites with childhood outfit on display at museum

A resident at a care home in Edinburgh has had her wish of being reunited with an outfit she last wore almost 100 years ago granted. 

Mary Davidson Smith, 104, was born in Korea before living all across the globe in her younger years, including stints in London, Canada and the USA. She later joined the Royal Navy and was posted to Washington DC, where she met her husband, Charles Wynard Davidson Smith, a British Army officer.

It was when the couple moved to Edinburgh to raise their two sons, Neil and Mark, that Mary donated a traditional Korean outfit made for her by her nurse to the National Museum of Scotland, where it is on display in the Patterns of Life gallery.

The team at Care UK’s Murrayside, on South Beechwood in Corstorphine, learned of Mary’s desire to be reconnected with a treasured piece of her childhood, so they set about making her dream a reality.

On her special day out to the museum, Mary was greeted by Dr Friederike Voigt, Principal Curator with responsibility for the west, south and south-east Asia collections. She took her on a private tour of the gallery and reunited her with the special outfit.

Mary said: “I felt like some sort of celebrity! It was so nice to see the dress again, it was a lot smaller than I remember”.

Friederike added: “It was wonderful to have the opportunity to welcome Mary to the Museum and reunite her with her outfit. Comprising a hat, bag and a wraparound jacket – known as a chimageogori – it’s a charming example of traditional Korean dress, or hanbok. We are grateful to Mary for her generous donation.”

Mary’s experience was part of Care UK’s Wishing Tree initiative, in which each care home encourages residents to put forward their dreams, allowing them to reconnect with a past hobby or try something completely new.

Suzanne Welsh, Home Manager at Murrayside, said: “No matter how big or small, we always aim to make residents’ wishes come true. When Mary shared her desire to see her childhood outfit once again, we knew we had to make it happen.

“It was such a wonderful day surprising Mary with a visit to the National Museum of Scotland, where she was able to see the outfit in person. The trip was incredibly emotional and nostalgic, reconnecting her with cherished memories from her early years and bringing a piece of history vividly to life.

“Seeing Mary’s face light up with delight was truly heartwarming. It was a very special day filled with pride. A huge thank you to the museum team, especially Friederike, for helping to arrange the visit and bring such meaningful memories back to life.”

Murrayside is a state-of-the-art care home that incorporates plenty of space for leisure activities and hobbies, including a cinema, hair and beauty salon and pub. The layout of the building is configured into a series of individual suites, each having a dedicated lounge/dining room to facilitate the creation of close-knit communities.