Edith Cavell 110 event to honour Norfolk nurse and First World War heroine
15 May 2025
The story of Norfolk nurse and First World War heroine Edith Cavell will be honoured at a special weekend at Norwich Cathedral in the autumn.
Edith Cavell 110 will take place on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 October to mark the 110th anniversary of Edith’s death on October 12 1915.
The free anniversary event is open to all and will see experts from Europe and America gather to share their reflections and new insights on the life and legacy of Edith who during the war nursed soldiers from both sides in occupied Belgium and helped more than 200 Allied soldiers reach safety.
Details of the Edith Cavell 110 event have been announced today to mark the anniversary of Edith being buried at her final resting place at Norwich Cathedral on 15 May 1919. The annual service of remembrance of this anniversary will also take place at Norwich Cathedral tonight at 5.30pm.
The Revd Dr Peter Doll, Norwich Cathedral’s Canon Librarian and Vice Dean, said: “Even today, so long after her death, Edith’s extraordinary life and witness continue to engage and inspire people around the world. The Edith Cavell 110 weekend will bring together leading scholars and organisations dedicated to sustaining her memory today to glean new insights into her legacy.”
During the Edith Cavell 110 weekend, all are welcome to attend the annual graveside commemoration beside Edith’s grave on Saturday 11 October at 11am.
In the afternoon, the symposium New Insights into Edith Cavell’s Life and Legacy will see experts share reflections from their ongoing research about Edith.
The symposium is now fully booked but people will also be able to watch online via a live stream on the Norwich Cathedral Services YouTube Channel.
Key speakers include:
- Professor Emmanuel Debruyne, Louvain University, Belgium
- Candice Millard, biographer, Kansas City, Missouri, United States
- The Revd Dr Peter Doll, Norwich Cathedral
- Andrew Brown, Group Chairman, Belgian Edith Cavell Commemoration Group
- Nick Miller, Edith Cavell Archivist from Edith’s home village of Swardeston
- Professor Nancy Fontaine, Chair of Trustees of the charity Cavell, founded in memory of Edith and supporting nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants.
On Sunday 12 October, the preacher at Norwich Cathedral’s 3.30pm Festal Evensong will be Canon Jack MacDonald, Chaplain-General of the Anglican Central Committee in Belgium, and a Canon of Holy Trinity Brussels, where Edith worshipped during her last year in Belgium.
Edith Cavell Archivist Nick Miller said: “We do still need to remember Edith’s courage and selflessness, and that of those working with her in 1914-15 in ‘resistance’. There are sadly all too many parallels today in war zones and places of oppression around the world which go on unrecognised.”
Born in Swardeston in 1865, Edith Cavell went on to become a pioneer of professional nursing training in Brussels and she nursed soldiers from both sides during the war in occupied Belgium. For nine months she worked with the Belgian underground resistance to shelter over 200 Allied soldiers, helping them escape to neutral Holland. For this she was tried and executed by the Germans on 12 October 1915.
The night before her execution, she famously said: “Standing as I do in view of God and eternity, I realise that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone.”
Edith’s body was returned to England in May 1919 and, following a funeral in Westminster Abbey, her body was brought home to Norfolk and laid to rest at Life’s Green, next to the Cathedral’s St Saviour’s Chapel which was built as a memorial to Norfolk’s fallen in the First World War.
Edith Cavell 110 will take place on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 October 2025 and is free to attend and open to all.
The symposium on the afternoon of Saturday 11 October is now fully booked but people will also be able to watch online via a live stream on the Norwich Cathedral Services YouTube Channel.
