Edith Cavell was born on December 4, 1865
in Swardeston, England. She was the daughter of a stern clergyman,
the Rev. Frederick Cavell and a loving mother, Lousia. As
a child she showed an artistic ability to draw plants, birds
and animals. After working as a governess for
over 10 years, Edith entered nursing school at age 30. In
England in the late 1800's, nursing was not considered a respectable
profession, and a woman who pursued a nursing career was,
in essence, giving up any chance of being married.
Edith studied nursing at the London Fever Hospital. Her first
assignment was at a charity hospital that cared for any patient
who came to the door. Soon she was visiting patients in their
homes. Horrified by the overcrowded and unhealthy conditions
and the number of ill and undernourished children, Edith began
using her time off to teach mothers how to keep their children
and homes clean and how to cook nourishing food for their
families. She approached the wealthy of London for donations
to send slum children to the seashore or county to get fresh
air. When contributions didn't equal the amount needed, Edith
paid for as many children as she could out of her own money.
Because of the negative view of nursing at the turn of the
century, there were few schools where a woman could learn
to be a good nurse. Some European countries had none - Belgium
was one of them. News of Edith's extraordinary nursing capability
and her sense of
compassion led to a position as a teacher and administrator
of a newly formed nursing school clinic called l'Ecole Belge
d'Infirmieres Diplomees in Brussels. The year was 1907 and
Edith was 42 years old.
As director of nursing at l'Ecole Belge d'Infirmieres Diplomees,
Edith developed a five-year diploma curriculum for nurses.
Her first nursing class had four students and the second,
seven. As word Edith's excellent nursing school spread, hospitals
from other countries began
requesting Edith's well-trained nurses. Before long, Edith
was running l'Ecole Belge d' Infirmieres Diplomees, as well
as a new hospital, St. Gilles, and at the same time training
women for private duty nursing
As World War I raged around Belgium, German troops, at war
with France, used a "shortcut" through Belgium to
meet the enemy. Soon the entire country of Belgium had fallen
to the Germans. Edith and her nurses were offered safe passage
to Holland, which they refused. Some joined the Red Cross
in France, but Edith remained in Belgium. When her nurses
refused to care for hospitalized Germans, Edith set an example
of caring for all sick, regardless of nationality.
According to German decree, as soon as a Belgian soldier recovered,
he was to immediately report to police headquarters. The men
who did so were never seen or heard from again. Edith began
informing her recovered patients that they were required to
report to police
headquarters, but at the same time she also provided an alternative
location for them to go, letting the men choose for themselves
whether they would report to the Germans or take a chance
at safety. Edith became part of an underground resistance
network working in
Brussels to help men escape. She protected hospitalized men
by keeping them longer than they needed. When there were no
beds available, Edith sheltered men in the hospital's attic
and cellar. In this way, she helped approximately 200 men
escape the Germans.
On August 4, 1915, after months of observation, the Germans
arrested Edith and others sheltering Belgian soldiers. On
October 7, 1915, Edith Cavell, along with others in the underground
network were found guilty of resistance activities and sentenced
to death by firing squad. Despite American, French and Spanish
intercession, Edith's sentence was not commuted. On October
12, 1915, Edith was executed by German firing squad. After
World War I, her body was brought home to England. In Brussels,
Belgium. the Edith lavell-Marcel De Page Institute is named
in her honor.
.
Marylou Morano Kjelle is a freelance writer
who lives and works in Central New Jersey. She is the author
of "Handmaid of the Lord: Prayers for Newly Single Christian
Mothers"