Florence Nightingale Monument - London
Following her experiences at Scutari, Florence travelled to many other army hospitals. The doctors reacted in the same way at these hospitals as they had done at Scutari but she still managed to start the process of change. She eventually collapsed with a fever due to over exhaustion and was not expected to survive.
The news shocked the people back in England who avidly followed the reports on her health. When Florence eventually recovered there was a national celebration and while she was still in the Crimea, a public meeting was held to give recognition to Florence for her work in the war which led to the establishment of the Nightingale Fund for the training of nurses. There was an outpouring of generous donations and Sidney Herbert served as honorary secretary of the fund.
By 1859 Nightingale had £45,000 at her disposal from the Nightingale Fund to set up the Nightingale Training School in 1860 (it is now called the Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery). The first trained Nightingale nurses began work at the Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary in 1865.
However, Florence was still to make a major contribution to the peoples of the world. She advised on the treatment of injured soldiers in Egypt and also advised the Americans during the duration of the Civil War. She was involved in a Royal Commission into the health problems in India which resulted in a sanitary board being set up in every province of India.
Florence Nightingale shortly before she died at the age of 90
In 1883, Nightingale was awarded the Royal Red Cross by Queen Victoria and in 1907, she became the first woman to received the Order of Merit award. On 13 August 1910, at the age of 90, she died peacefully in her sleep. The offer of burial in Westminister Abbey was declined by her relatives, and she is buried in the graveyard at St. Margaret Church in East Wellow, Hampshire.
Undoutedly Florence Nightingale’s most famous contribution came during the Crimean War. In 1854 war was declared by Great Britain and other countries on Russia and reports began to filter back to Britain about the inhumane conditions and the lack of care for the the sick and injured ally troops.
By the end of 1854, Florence and a staff of 38 women volunteer nurses, trained by Nightingale and including her aunt Mai Smith, had travelled to the army hospital at Scutari in Turkey. There were a huge number of injured soldiers, hardly any of which were receiving even basic care and treatment for their injuries. Despite this, the male army doctors still refused to allow Florence and her nurses to help at all.
William Tyndale was an English scholar and theologian whose translation of the New Testament was the first to be printed in English. His simple, clear style was a model for subsequent English translations of the bible and his influence on modern day society is still very strong.
Talking about his work, John Pawson said “St Paul’s is one of the most recognisable buildings in the country. Inevitably it’s the grand architectural moves which everyone knows – the west elevation, the nave and the dome. In collaboration with Swarovski, I have been given the chance to turn the focus on a less familiar element – the Geometric Staircase – which is a detail, but also a complete architectural moment in its own right. The cathedral is an immensely complex work of architecture and the temptation when you visit is to try to take in everything. This is about offering a spatial experience based around a single, sharply honed perspective. The form this experience takes is shaped by Wren’s own interest in creating scientific instruments out of buildings.”