A TRIBUTE TO EDITH CAVELL

摘要

Continuing our series paying tribute to nursing greats, this issue we look at the life and work of Edith Cavell. The British nurse, born in 1865, is best known for saving the lives of soldiers from all sides, without distinction, during World War One. COURAGE AND COMPASSION: Edith began her training at the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel. She worked in a number of British hospitals before being asked back to Brussels, where she'd previously worked as a governess, to nurse a sick child. There, she was invited to be matron of the first nursing school in Belgium. She was visiting her family in Norfolk when World War One broke out, and saw it as her duty to return to Belgium to help. Edith cared for all the wounded there, regardless of which side they were fighting on. Edith also worked with others to smuggle Allied soldiers out of the hospital in German-occupied Belgium and across the border. She is believed to have saved the lives of more than 200 men. When the Germans discovered what Edith was doing, she was arrested, along with others. She was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death by firing squad. Despite international pressure, Edith was executed on 12 October 1915.