Edith Cavell
1865-1915 19th century
To care for all without picking sides, and to go without bitterness.
Who was Edith Cavell?
Daughter of a Norfolk clergyman, a governess and then a nurse, she directed in Brussels the first lay nursing school in Belgium. Under occupation she cared for the wounded of both sides without distinction and helped some two hundred soldiers across the border. Arrested in August 1915 and tried, she was shot at dawn on 12 October.
In their own words
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.
I have seen death so often that it is not strange or fearful to me.
I have told you that devotion would bring you true happiness, and that the thought that you had done your duty before God and in yourselves, and with a good heart, would be your greatest support in the difficult moments of life and in the face of death.