A Soldier's Hero: Edith Cavell (1865–1915)

Abstract

This black and white photograph from a 1915 issue of the British Journal of Nursing shows nurse Edith Cavell sitting in a garden with her 2 dogs. Edith Cavell was a British nurse and humanitarian. She entered the nursing profession at the age of 20 and was appointed matron of the Berkendael Medical Institute in Brussels, Belgium, in 1907. During her brief career in Belgium, she succeeded in modernizing the standard of Belgian nursing. When the Germans occupied Belgium at the start of World War I, Cavell joined the Red Cross, and the Berkendael Institute was subsequently converted into a hospital for wounded soldiers of all nationalities.1 Cavell is credited with helping over 200 captured Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium to neutral Holland during the war. She is quoted as saying, “I can't stop while there are lives to be saved.”2 Her strong Anglican beliefs led her to assist all soldiers who needed help on both sides of the war. For personally aiding in the escape of these soldiers, Cavell was arrested on August 5, 1915, by local German authorities and was later executed by firing squad.1 Her execution led to worldwide sympathetic press coverage—most notably in Britain and the United States, which had not yet entered the war. Her death was mourned by the British and US population and persuaded many to support the war effort. A 1915 black and white photograph of Edith Cavell. Image courtesy of the National Library of Medicine. Cavell is well-known for her final words: “Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone.”3(p297) She is buried at Norwich Cathedral Norwich, United Kingdom, and is commemorated by a statue near Trafalgar Square.