Place of Birth : Swardeston, Norfolk, England
Date of Birth : 4 December 1865
Occupation : Nurse
Childhood and family
The eldest of four siblings, Edith Cavell was born to Reverend Frederick Cavell and Louisa Sophia Cavell in 1865. Her Christian upbringing left a lasting impact on her life with her faith guiding her actions and conviction as a nurse.
Career path
After leaving school, Edith became a governess. In her position with the François family she moved to Belgium and made connections which would last her a lifetime. After returning to England, Edith started her medical career in a fever hospital before becoming a probationary student at the London Hospital training school in 1896. She was noted by those who worked with her and those she helped to be strong willed, kind and with a sense of duty to nursing.
The story
After several years working in different positions across England, Edith returned to Brussels to become matron of the first training school for nurses in Belgium in 1907. Although her work was initially met with hostility since nursing in Belgium had previously been carried out by the Catholic Church, Edith excelled in her role.
With the start of the First World War in July 1914, the lives of millions of people were about to change, Edith included. On the 4th August of that year, German troops invaded Belgium. Edith nursed soldiers from both sides of the conflict believing that her duty was to help without discrimination. The hospital where Edith worked was affiliated with the Red Cross so she was supposed to remain neutral during the war but she knew she could save the lives of the sick and healthy alike if she was willing to break the rules.
Edith joined the efforts of the resistance and helped around 200 Allied soldiers escape into Holland, working alongside Belgians. She used her position to provide false papers and deceive German authorities. Helping as many people as she did, the German secret police (Gestapo) found out what Edith had been doing and arrested her. She was found guilty of treason for her part in helping the Allies and sentenced to death.
She is said to have remained calm during her time in prison, reading religious texts to make peace with what was happening to her. On the eve of her execution, Edith famously said ‘But this I would say, standing as I do in view of God and eternity. I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.’
On the 12th October 1915, Edith Cavell was executed by German firing squad. Although she did not want to be known as a martyr, this is what she became as her death sent shockwaves around the world. With her death used in British wartime propaganda, she became one of the most well-known British female casualties of war.
Edith’s body was repatriated to England in 1919 and she was welcomed as a hero. She was buried at Norwich Cathedral where a service is still held every year in her memory. Amongst several memorials in her honour, Edith is remembered by a stain glass window in Swardeston Church in her home parish.
How was this story collected : Research inquiries made by museum staff and volunteers
Acknowledgements :
- Christine E. Hallett, Edith Cavell and her Legend (London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2019)
- Diana Souhami, Edith Cavell (London: Quercus, 2010)
- https://edithcavell.org.uk
