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Edith
Cavell, the daughter of the rector of Swardeston, Norfolk, was
born in 1865. After training as a nurse at the London Hospital she
became the first matron of the Berkendael Medical Institute in Brussels.
After
the German Army invaded Belgium in 1914, Berkendael became a Red
Cross hospital for wounded soldiers regardless of their nationality.
On 5th August 1915, she was arrested by the Germans and charged
with having helped about 200 allied soldiers to escape to neutral
Holland.
Cavell
was kept in solitary confinement for nine weeks, during which time
she was tricked by the Germans into making a confession. Edith Cavell
was tried by court-martial, and along with her Belgian accomplice,
Philippe Baucq, was found guilty and sentenced to death. Cavell's
execution by firing-squad on 12th October, 1915, received world-wide
press coverage.
The
Marble statue is by Sir George Frampton (1920). Inscribed are her
own last words "Patriotism is not enough". It is generally
considered to be a very ugly monument. At its unveiling a General
murmered to Lady Asquith "The Germans will blush when they
see this", to which she is said to have replied "Won't
the British?".
See
also Peterborough
Edith Cavell Memorial |
