Edith Cavell

20th Century Portraits Catalogue Entry

Sitter in 8 portraits
Born and educated in Norfolk within a family with strong religious beliefs, Cavell worked as a governess in Essex and Brussels. After returning to England to help care for her ill father, she trained as a nurse and by 1907 became the matron of a nurse's training school in Brussels; this school revolutionised nursing and saw it transformed into a serious profession. When the Germans invaded Belgium in 1914 Cavell began to assist in the escape of allied soldiers, with the school becoming a crucial part of the resistance network; spies and informers became suspicious and she was arrested after aiding the escape of at least 200 men; she confessed and was executed by firing squad at dawn on 12 October, 1915.