War Heroes: Edith Cavell Part 1

By SUSAN BROCKER, Illustrator W.H. Anderson

On a cold, wet night in November, 1914, two wounded British soldiers disguised in civilian clothes limped into a hospital in German-occupied Belgium. "Please, will you help us get back to England?" they begged the English nurse who was matron there.

Nurse Cavell didn't hesitate, even though she knew she risked being shot for helping British soldiers to escape. She treated the soldiers, then smuggled them out of Belgium with the help of guides. The two soldiers were the first of many who would be hidden and cared for by Edith Cavell over the next year.

Since childhood, Edith Cavell had taken care of other people. In the village in England where she grew up, she ran errands and cooked meals for the sick and elderly.

After training as a nurse, she went to Belgium to head a nursing school. She refused to flee from the invading German army when World War I broke out in 1914. She had a hospital to run.

Publisher: Shortland Publications, $8.95
Age: 10-12 years