4 minute read
Edith Cavell: Hero of Nursing
By Richard Hughes
As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, the tightly circumscribed roles of women—so long dictated by Victorian ideas of morality and conduct—began to expand. Women entered fields previously closed to them, often with extraordinary results. Marie Curie’s groundbreaking research into radioactivity earned her two Nobel Prizes; Emmeline Pankhurst endured imprisonment as she fought for women’s voting rights; Amelia Earhart flew solo across both the Atlantic and Pacific; Florence Nightingale transformed nursing into a true profession.
Among these remarkable women, though perhaps less well known today, stands Edith Cavell—no less a figure of strength, courage, and compassion.
Born in Norfolk, England, in 1865, Cavell was the daughter of an Anglican minister. Skilled in French, she worked as a nanny in Brussels before returning to England in 1895 to care for her ailing father. That experience revealed her true vocation. After training at London Hospital, she worked in hospitals serving the poor and destitute, then returned to Brussels in 1907 to work with a doctor who pioneered the training of professional nurses, to replace the well-intentioned and compassionate nuns who had no specific medical training. There she flourished, training nurses for hospitals and schools while lecturing to both doctors and nurses.
While back in England for a visit, war broke out and Germany invaded Belgium. Seeing the suffering in Brussels, Cavell felt her presence was more needed than ever. She returned to a Red Cross hospital where German soldiers and Belgians received the same attention. Then Brussels fell and the Germans commandeered the Royal Palace for treatment of their own wounded; the English nurses were sent home; however, Cavell and her assistant felt obligated to remain.
In 1914, two British soldiers stranded behind enemy-lines found their way to Cavell’s nurse training school and were provided shelter, at great risk to the nurses. Others followed. Ultimately, an underground system was established by the Belgian resistance to aid the soldiers to escape to the neutral Netherlands. They all knew, if discovered, they would be shot for aiding allied soldiers; however, Cavell saw this as an extension of nursing, a humanitarian service, despite the danger and certainty of death if discovered.
After aiding some 200 soldiers, the network was betrayed. Cavell was arrested, confessed to her role, and sentenced to death. Despite international pleas for clemency, she was executed by firing squad in 1915.
Edith Cavell had risked her life and ultimately gave it to save the lives of others. There was an immediate and forceful outcry from the allied countries. In Britain, enlistments surged; on the front lines, soldiers fought with renewed determination. Neutral countries condemned the brutality of her execution, a reaction that helped shift the United States toward joining the war.
After the war, Cavell’s remains were returned to England, escorted with solemn ceremony to Westminster Abbey for a funeral service and then carried by special train to her family home for a final service and burial.
Edith Cavell has been honoured by numerous statues and memorials across Britain but also in Brussels, Paris and several Commonwealth countries. Cavell is also memorialized in many biographies and films. In Canada, the highest mountain in Alberta, within Jasper National Park, was named Mount Edith Cavell. Closer to home, the Belleville General Hospital from 1968 to 1974 trained nurses at the Edith Cavell Regional School of Nursing.
Edith Cavell personified selfless devotion, compassion and fearlessness both as a nurse and humanitarian. She remains a model and inspiration for all who serve their community in nursing and the many aspects of caring for those in need.
