Nurse Edith Cavell

Edith Cavell, an English nurse who was also likely a spy, rose to prominence during the First World War for assisting 200 Allied soldiers in escaping German-occupied Belgium. After serving as a governess for a while, Edith Cavell decided to pursue a career in nursing and enrolled as a nurse probationer at the London Hospital in 1896. Dr. Antoine Depage hired Cavell in 1907 to serve as matron at the Berkendael Medical Institute in Brussels, Belgium. Edith was in England when war broke out in 1914, but she quickly went back to her Institute, which the Red Cross had taken over after the German conquest of Belgium.

Edith was part of a squad that provided protection for wounded Belgian and French citizens as well as British and French soldiers from German authorities while carrying out her duties on soldiers from both sides. These individuals were given fictitious documents before being transported from occupied Belgium to the neutral Netherlands. In August 1915, Edith Cavell was detained together with other people for sheltering and helping Allied soldiers. Following her incarceration, both sides' propaganda tried to portray Cavell as either a good nurse or a traitor. For diplomatic purposes, Edith was tried in secret and kept in isolation before being given the death penalty. She was executed by firing squad on October 12, 1915.

Lifespan: December 4, 1865 – October 12, 1915

Nation: Britain