Richie Rich Posted 4 July , 2021 Share Posted 4 July , 2021 I found this interesting piece of tragic history displayed at the Warriors Gate M.O.T.H Museum in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The items relating to Edith Cavell on display were two photos of her grave and monument in Belgium as well some pebbles, withered flowers and pieces of wood from the cross on her grave. As most will know, Edith Cavell was a 49 year old British nurse that was executed by a German firing squad after she had been found guilty of treason - largely through her acts of saving countless Allied servicemen by helping them escape from occupied Belgium. Given her loyalty and patriotism to the Crown, one would have expected her to have done her "duty" as a Subject, but clearly, to the Germans it was an act of "war treason" punishable by death. A sad ending to an amazing and zealous woman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sueburden Posted 4 July , 2021 Share Posted 4 July , 2021 If you have not read the book, "Edith Cavell" by Diana Southam, I would highly recommend it. Sue Spoiler Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaJane Posted 4 July , 2021 Share Posted 4 July , 2021 5 hours ago, sueburden said: Southam Probably a predictive text issue but the author's name is actually Diana Souhami. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sueburden Posted 5 July , 2021 Share Posted 5 July , 2021 Thank you Jane, but not predictive text. Senior moment. The brain and the body are going downhill fast. Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Rich Posted 5 July , 2021 Author Share Posted 5 July , 2021 Hi Sue. Appreciated. I will definitely explore that avenue. Regards. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedley Malloch Posted 6 July , 2021 Share Posted 6 July , 2021 The crime of 'war treason' was highly questionable in her case, as she was a British subject and owed no allegiance to the German state. Was she a spy? No directly, but many of the men she helped escape passed on valuable intelligence to the British authorities. The Southami book is good as is Richard Ryder's 'Edith Cavell', Hamish Hamilton, 1975. This has a 'Hotel Register' of many of her 'guests' as they passed through her Clinique. If you fancy a more gender based analysis of her life try 'Transnational Outrage: The Death and Commemoration of Edith Cavell', by Katie Pickles, Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richie Rich Posted 7 July , 2021 Author Share Posted 7 July , 2021 Excellent ....appreciated. Agreed on the 'war treason' part - surely as a British subject she would have been doing her duty and if anything should have been imprisoned and treated within the parameters of a POW. But point taken on the intelligence pass-on and I guess perhaps desperate times would have called for desperate measures. A tragedy on it's own and who knows, perhaps one day I will get to see one of the movies made to commemorate this amazing woman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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