Short Biography Nurse Edith Cavell
Edith
Cavell was a nurse, humanitarian and spy. During the First World War, she
helped allied servicemen escape German occupied Belgium; she was eventually
captured and executed for treason. Her death by firing squad made her
internationally known and she became an iconic symbol for the Allied cause.
In
particular, she is remembered for her courage in facing execution with
equanimity. This included her famous last words that 'Patriotism is not
enough.'
Edith
Cavell was born in Swardeston, near Norwich. Her father was a priest in the
Anglican church; this religious faith, she was brought up with, was to provide
an important influence on her life. In 1900, she trained to be a nurse at the
London hospital. In 1907, she was recruited to be the matron of a new nursing
school in Brussels. This was a period of growth in the prestige and importance
of nursing; a period which began with Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War. In 1910,
Miss Cavell began one of the first nursing journals, L'infirmiere, this
documented good nursing practises and basic standards. She became a teacher of
nurses in different hospitals throughout Belgium and sought to improve
standards of nursing. In the Nursing Mirror, Edith Cavell, writes:
"The
probationers wear blue dresses with white aprons and white collars. The
contrast which they present to the nuns, in their heavy stiff robes, and to the
lay nurses, in their grimy apparel, is the contrast of the unhygienic past with
the enlightened present."
Edith Cavell - First World War
In 1914,
the First World War broke out. At the time, Miss Cavell was in England, but she
moved back to Belgium to her hospital which was later taken over by the Red
Cross. As part of the German Schlieffen plan, the Germans invaded Belgium and
from late 1914, Brussels was under a very strict German occupation of military
rule.
Many
British soldiers had been lost behind in the withdrawal of the allied forces
and were stuck in Brussels. Miss Cavell decided to aid the British servicemen,
hiding them in the hospital and safe houses around Belgium. From these safe
houses, some 200 British servicemen were able to escape to neutral Holland. At
the same time, she continued to act as nurse and treated wounded soldiers from
both the German and allied side. The occupying German army threatened strict
punishments for anyone who was found to be 'aiding and abetting the enemy'.
Yet, despite the military rule, Miss Cavell continued to help.
"Nothing
but physical impossibility, lack of space and money would make me close my
doors to Allied refugees." - Edith Cavell
In mid-1915,
nurse Edith Cavell came under suspicion for helping allied servicemen to
escape; this was not helped by her outspoken views on her perceived injustice
of the occupation.
In August
1915, she was arrested and held in St Gilles prison. After her arrest, she did
not try to defend herself, but only said in her defense that she felt compelled
to help the people in need.
After a
short trial, the German military tribunal found her guilty of treason and
sentenced her to execution. This surprised many observers as it seemed harsh
given her honesty and fact she had saved many lives both Allied and German.
Brand
Whitlock, the US minister to Belgium and the Spanish Minister, 'The Marquis de
Villalobar', made representations to the German High Command asking her
sentence of death be commuted. In particular, the US minister warned the
Germans that this execution of a nurse would damage Germany's already bad
reputation and would be seen as an injustice in the eyes of the world.
However,
the protestations from the Spanish and American embassies were in vain, the
German officer in charge - Count Harrach, dismissed the pleas saying 'He
would rather see Miss Cavell shot than have harm come to one of the humblest
German soldiers, and his only regret was that they had not 'three or four
English old women to shoot.'
Execution of Nurse Edith Cavell
For two
weeks prior to her execution, Miss Cavell, was kept in solitary confinement,
except for a few brief visits. On the night before her execution, she was
visited by the Reverend Stirling Gahan, an Anglican chaplain. He recorded her
final conversation. He records that Miss Cavell said:
'Patriotism
is not enough, I must have no hatred or bitterness to anyone."
She is
also recorded as having said:
"I
have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me."
On her
last night, she wrote to her fellow nurses, saying:
"I
have told you that devotion will give you real happiness, and the thought that
you have done, before God and yourselves, your whole duty and with a good heart
will be your greatest support in the hard moments of life and in the face of
death."
The
following morning she was executed with other Belgians convicted on similar
charges.
There are
conflicting reports of her execution. But, in one report, a German soldier is
said to have refused to execute Miss Cavell and was shot by his commanding
officer. However, this account is refuted by Pasteur Le Seur who was at the
execution.
In some
misleading allied propaganda, Edith Cavell was reported to have fainted with
fear and refused to wear a blindfold, after which she was shot in head by a
German officer. This was found to be untrue.
Edith Cavell and War Propaganda
After her
execution, the fate of Edith Cavell was widely publicised in the British and
American media. It was shown as more evidence of German brutality and
injustice. Edith Cavell was portrayed as a heroic, and innocent figure who
remained steadfast in her Christian faith and willingness to die for her
country. It was hoped her example would encourage more men to enlist.
The
incident and disgust at her treatment by Germany, played an important role in
shaping American public opinion and easing America's entry into the war, later
in 1917.
Interestingly,
during the war the French shot two German nurses helping German forces escape.
When asked why they didn't publicise this for its similarities to Edith
Cavell's execution, the German High Command replied, 'Why complain? the French
had a perfect right to shoot them.'
After the
war her body was returned to Westminster Abbey for a state burial. Her body was
later buried in Norwich Cathedral.
