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Florence Nightingale

Florence Nightingale was a nurse who saved many lives in the 19th
century. She was named after the city of Florence in Italy, where her
parents went after they got married in 1818. Her family was rich and
they had two homes in Britain as well as servants.
Florence was an unusual young woman for her time because she
didn’t want to go to parties and get married. She wanted to be a nurse and help people. Her family
didn’t want her to become a nurse because hospitals back then were dirty, horrible places. They
were worried about her. In 1851, Florence went to Germany and learned all about nursing. It was hard
work, but she loved it.
In 1854, lots of British soldiers went to fight in the Crimean War. Army hospitals were filled with injured
men, but there were no nurses and many men died. Florence and a team of nurses went to help.
Florence worked 20 hours a day to make the army hospital a cleaner and safer place. She brought
the men fresh food, she cleaned the hospital beds and she used clean bandages on the wounded
soldiers. Soon, fewer men were dying.
At night, Florence walked around the hospital. She talked to the injured soldiers and helped the men
to write letters to their families. She carried a lamp and the soldiers called her ‘The lady with the
lamp’.
When Florence returned to England, people called her a heroine because of her amazing work in the
Crimean War. Queen Victoria wrote her a letter to say thank you. She continued to work hard in
Britain to improve hospitals and she was given a medal called the Order of Merit. She was the first
woman to receive this honour.