Dora Noyce

Dora Noyce (born Georgie Hunter Rae, 1900 –1977) was a Scottish brothel keeper ("madam") based in Edinburgh.

Early life Born Georgie Hunter Rae in Rose Street, Edinburgh, The poverty of her upbringing led Rae to prostitution and was working in the occupation before she reached her majority, soon adopting the accent of the affluent Morningside district of the city. Although not her first offence, she did not receive her first conviction for living off immoral earnings until 1934. Noyce had a daughter Violet (b. 1923), and took the surname of her child's official father to use as a pseudonym. She could call on a contact in Glasgow and additional women would arrive in taxis. Her employees had regular health checks in line with the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1949 which legislated that "habitual prostitutes" should be checked for sexually transmitted diseases. Queues formed around the block when certain ships were in port. The aircraft carrier USS John F. Kennedy docked at Leith in 1970 leading to her women reportedly attending to £4,000 of business in one night. The ship's captain was forced to declare the house off-limits. and once observed: "In my profession there is no such thing as bad publicity, so do make sure you print the correct address in your newspaper".

A Conservative supporter who displayed banners for the party in her windows during elections, Noyce embarrassed her member of parliament by turning up at garden fetes. She also attended Kirk, the services of the Church of Scotland.

Law and order Known for dressing in a fur coat, twinset and pearls, giving an outwardly respectable image, Noyce was charged 47 times for living off immoral earnings, but generally paid the fine immediately (sometimes up to £250). On her release, she said her sentence "was very stupid of the court. I was just a burden on the ratepayers and, goodness knows, they have enough to put up with already".

She served as a police informer on occasion, which helped to reduce the number of raids,