Tributes to all those who have lost their lives in conflict – Today it marks 100 years since the signing of the treaty which ended the battle on the Western Front of the First World War at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
The nurses of World War I are truly inspirational heroes. They overcame insurmountable odds, endured gender-based prejudice, and helped a flood of wounded soldiers under enemy fire. Each of these courageous women, though patriots of different countries, were ultimately devoted to the true calling of nursing: saving human life.
Some did it through administration and coordination. Some stood firmly at their posts while bombs exploded around them. And others were so passionate that they continued their work despite being in direct opposition to military law. In the end, there is no doubt that each nurse is a credit to the nursing profession.
We visited Nellie Spindler grave, who died aged 26 in a blast at a hospital three miles from the frontline near Ypres in 1917. Ms Spindler was buried with full military honours and is the only woman buried in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, among 10,000 men. The other woman who died during World War One to be buried in Belgium is Elsie Mabel Gladstone, who also worked as a nurse, and died of pneumonia.
Edith Cavell is celebrated for saving the lives of soldiers from both sides without discrimination and in helping some 200 allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during the WWI, for which she was arrested. She was accused of treason, found guilty by a court-martial and sentenced to death. The night before her execution, she said “Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.” Cavell, who was 49 at the time of her execution, was already notable as a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium.
Let’s remember our nurses who died during WWI and WWII.