| The lady with the pen |
|
|
| Written by Linda Hart, 2004 | |
|
Page 2 of 2 Sir Barry Jackson's illustrated after-dinner talk took us from the world of the English country house to the battlefields of the Crimea and the hospital at Scutari, where Nightingale fought against squalor, disease, malnutrition and the obstructive military authorities. Sir Barry (president of the Royal Society of Medicine) gave a fascinating account of the difficulties facing physicians and surgeons during the Crimean War, because of the weather and terrain, a lack of medical and food supplies, and so little understanding of what caused cholera, dysentery, typhoid and malaria. The British Army sent out 97,900 men and 20,800 of them died. More importantly, 16,300 died from disease and not from wounds received in battle. When these figures became known Nightingale was determined to use them to bring about changes. She was a brilliant statistician and pioneered the use of statistics to reveal cause and effect relationships, and from this campaign to improve the lives of people. No wonder that in 1860 she was elected first woman Fellow of the Statistical Society. Hidden museumsOn Sunday morning we were transported not just to London but back in time to the 19th century seen from the perspective of post-war Britain. On the coach journey we watched The Lady with the Lamp, a splendid film made in 1951 starring Anna Neagle. It was a wonderful evocation of Nightingale's life - there was Embley Park and the family grave at East Wellow, where we had been the previous day.We arrived at a gem of a museum in Southark. Hidden in the roof of St Thomas' church, on the original sites of St Thomas' Hospital, is the Old Operating Theatre Museum. It consists of the oldest surviving operating theatre in the country, dating to 1822, where we saw how a leg amputation would have been performed before the days of anaesthetics and antiseptics. Next to the operating theatre is the Herb Garret, where the hospital's apothecary stored and cured herbs for making medical compounds. Today it contains a fascinating collection of objects that reveal the horrors of medicine in the first half of the 19th century. In 1860 Florence Nightingale was involved in setting up, on this site, the famous Nightingale Nursing School, and it was on her advice that St Thomas' Hospital was redesigned in its present location at Lambeth. Lambeth was our next stop and the Florence Nightingale Museum at St Thomas' Hospital. Here displays, as well as a 20-minute film, tell the story of her life. Highlights include some of her childhood books, early holiday souvenirs, furniture from the Hospital for Gentlewomen in Harley Street, which she ran in 1853, and her medicine chest and notebooks from the Crimea. Mammoth task By this time I was concluding that to fully understand and appreciate the life of Florence Nightingale is itself a lifetime's work. To do her justice you would have to know something of military and social history, Victorian society and politics, nursing and medicine, hospital administration and architecture, epidemiology and statistics, philosophy and theology, Classical literature and the Indian subcontinent. Volume one of The Collected Works of Florence Nightingale (published in 2001) now sits on my desk. Its 908 pages weigh 1.36kg (3lb) and 16 volumes are planned, using the material found in 150 archives and private collections around the world. Everything in these books, plus additional material, is being published online (see "Further information"). The mastermind behind this enormous project is Lynn McDonald, Professor of Sociology at the University of Guelph in Canada. She has taken a 'warts and all' approach, and nothing has been left out. She and her colleagues "have had enough of the stereotyped heroine, and we want her now to be understood in all her complexity." These volumes "will portray a woman of extraordinary intellect, utter dedication to her calling, a prodigious appetite for work and touching human qualities." If at times she was arrogant, demanding, obsessive or vindictive, does it really matter? It seems to me that we have forgotten how important Florence Nightingale was in liberating future generations of women. She battled long and hard against overwhelming odds to be free to work, have a career and an independent life. Women around the world have a lot to thank her for today. Linda Hart is a writer and editor living in Herefordshire. Further informationThis information was correct at the time when Woman's World went to press in 2004. Please contact these places of interest for more up-to-date information.The Florence Nightingale weekend was organised by Holts Tours. They have specialised for 25 years in military and historical tours on four continents. Although most of their holidays focus on the First and Second World Wars, many other periods of history are covered. Holts Tours always have two expert guides, and everyone receives information packs. For further details or a brochure contact them at HiTours House, Crossoak Lane, Salfords, Redhill, Surrey RH1 5EX, tel: 01293 455300, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.battletours.co.uk The Florence Nightingale Museum is at 2 Lambeth Palace Road, London SE1 7EW, tel: 020 7620 0374, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.florence-nightingale.co.uk Open seven days a week with guided tours every weekday afternoon, but special tours can be arranged for WI group bookings and lunch is available nearby at St Thomas' Hospital Thames Terrace Restaurant opposite the House of Commons. The Old Operating Theatre Museum and Herb Garret are at 9A St Thomas' Street, London SE1 9RY, tel: 020 7955 4791, email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit www.thegarret.org.uk Group visits from WIs are welcomed. (I can highly recommend both these museums for individuals and WIs looking for an interesting day's outing to London. Our coach was allowed to park outside the Operating Theatre Museum and the Florence Nightingale Museum.) For The Collected Works of Florence Nightingale online, visit www.sociology.uoguelph.ca/fnightingale |
