The Story of Edith Cavell

Last week our historians commemorated the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme; one of the bloodiest battles of World War One, which lasted for five months and saw more than one million men wounded or killed. Across the UK a two minute silence was held at 7.28 am, marking the start of the battle on 1 July 1916.

11 girls from Year 7 and Year 9 put on a dramatisation for Year 9 students who have opted to take GCSE History next year, with commentary provided by the girls and by one of our parents, Mrs Gail Osman, who also helped to orchestrate the event. The focus of the commemorative activities was the life of Edith Cavell, a British nurse who dedicated her life to saving the lives of soldiers from both sides of the conflict without discrimination, and who assisted 200 soldiers in escaping from German occupation. She became a notable pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium during the war and, under her guidance the hospital became known as a centre of medical excellence, thanks largely to her dedication to cleanliness in fighting infection.

Edith Cavell was well known for her strong Christian beliefs, which motivated her time and again to continue to treat all people who required treatment. She was arrested and accused of treason, before being found guilty by a court-martial and subsequently sentenced to death, and was shot by a German firing squad. Well done to the girls for portraying this aspect of war so sensitively and realistically – with some of the dialogue being French where French would have been spoken at the time – and thank you to Mrs Osman and Dr Alison Gundy, teacher of History and Government and Politics, for their efforts in organising this important commemorative event.