The theatre of war has produced several heroes and I have written about two of them in previous issues, Woodbine Willie and Tubby Clayton. Now it is the turn of the ladies! Edith Cavell was a British nurse working in occupied Belgium who saved the lives of soldiers from both sides of the conflict, as well as helping Allied soldiers escape

She was born on December 4^th, 1865 in Swardeston, a small village in Norfolk, to the Revd Frederick Cavell and his wife Louisa, the eldest of four children. She was a very lively child with many interests, one being photography. She went to work as a governess in Belgium where she became a fluent French speaker, returning home when her father became ill. Edith helped to nurse him back to health and it was this that probably led to her changing her career. She trained at the Royal London Hospital under Eva lckes who, if truth be told, was not overly impressed by her pupil. She had several nursing posts in England, which included Maidstone and Manchester and Salford, before she returned to Belgium to nurse. There, eventually, she was invited to take up the role of Matron of the first nursing school to be founded in Belgium. Despite her former tutor’s misgivings, Edith excelled in the role and by 1912 she was managing a school of nursing, thirteen private kindergartens, three hospitals, three private nursing homes, 24 communal schools for nurses, a clinic and giving lectures.

At the outbreak of war, Edith decided her place was on the front line in Belgium. She cared for soldiers from both sides which made her unpopular in certain quarters. As the war progressed Edith took on a more hazardous role, that of helping the resistance to smuggle Allied soldiers out of hospital and into neutral Holland. This branch of the underground operated for a year and was masterminded by the Prince and Princess de Cray from their chateau at Mons and assisted by an architect, Philipe Baucq, who acted as guide for the escapees. Unfortunately, as is often the case, the German authorities became suspicious and Edith was arrested. There was a distinct possibility she had been betrayed by a collaborator but they were dangerous times. She was sent to trial and sentenced to death by firing squad alongside Baucq. She was attended at her execution by an Anglican clergyman the Revd H Stirling Gahan. He had been approached by the prison chaplain, Pastor M Le Seur, who felt that Edith would not find spiritual help or comfort from a German in uniform. The accounts of both these gentlemen of Edith’s final hours are extremely moving. She was buried at the rifle range and a plain wooden cross was erected over her grave. Her execution received worldwide condemnation and she became a secular saint and martyr. Edith would certainly not have approved of this!

At the time of her death she had enabled up to 200 men to escape. Her courage was truly remarkable. She was well aware of the likely outcome of her activities but, because she had an undying belief in the rightness of her actions and a very strong faith in God, she pressed on and, in the end, she paid the ultimate price. "I have no fear nor shrinking. I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me. 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 to anyone".

After the war, her remains were returned to England and a funeral was held at Westminster Abbey with Queen Alexandra in attendance. She was re-interred in Norwich Cathedral and the wooden cross that had marked her grave in Belgium is now preserved at the back of her father’s church in Swardeston.

There are several events planned during 2015 to mark the centenary of her death and there are memorials to this incredibly brave lady. There is a statue outside the National Portrait Gallery and a mountain (Mount Edith Cavell) in Jasper National Park, Alberta in Canada, to name just two! One of the latest is that of a coin struck as part of the Royal Mint’s commemoration of the First World War.

Finally, the words of one of her father’s successors. "A very brave woman, driven by a sense of duty, of patriotism and by the practical living out of her faith in Jesus Christ."