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Edith Cavell

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Nurse

The Resume

    (December 4, 1865-October 12, 1915)
    Born in Swardeston, England, United Kingdom
    Nurse at the Berkendael Institute in Brussels, Belgium
    Helped 200 Allied soldiers escape to neutral Holland
    Executed by the German military for aiding the enemy

Why she might be annoying:

    Her first nursing supervisor complained about her frequent tardiness.
    British propaganda posters usually depicted her as being much younger than her 49 years.
    The French executed two German nurses for the same offense of helping prisoners of war escape.
    When asked why they never commented on the executions, a German propaganda officer said, 'The French had a perfect right to shoot them.'

Why she might not be annoying:

    She was visiting her parents in England when World War I broke out and immediately returned to Belgium, saying 'At a time like this I am needed more than ever.'
    The night before her execution, she told her chaplain, 'Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.'
    Her execution provoked such outrage, particularly in the US, that the death sentences of her co-defendants were commuted to imprisonment.
    Prime Minister H. H. Asquith said, 'She has taught the bravest man among us the supreme lesson of courage.'
    She said she did not want to be remembered as a martyr or heroine but simply 'a nurse who tried to do her duty.'

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 27 Votes: 29.63% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 5 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 14 Votes: 35.71% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 21 Votes: 9.52% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 145 Votes: 48.97% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 26 Votes: 38.46% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 118 Votes: 58.47% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 79 Votes: 51.90% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 28 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 73 Votes: 34.25% Annoying