Edith Cavell: A True Hero

Imagine a world where everyday people became known for their heroic acts alone throughout many countries. Where people who weren’t known for being rich or a celebrity. Instead, people were known for saving lives. Does this sound like a kind of heaven to you? Because this was the world where Edith Cavell lived. Edith Cavell was an everyday nurse who had a strong sense of altruism and a compassion for people. Edith Cavell stands as a hero because she saved many soldiers, she had an incredibly positive influence as head matron at the hospital she worked at, and her compassion pushed her to never turn any wounded soldier away, whether they were an Allied soldier or a German soldier. Edith Cavell proved she was a hero when she successfully saved multiple Allied soldiers, despite the fact that she was in serious danger because of this. When she was alive, Edith worked as a nurse in a medical institute in Brussels during the war with the Germans. Her town was overrun with Germans who dictated the town, and even though she was aware of the charges she would face, she helped 200 allied soldiers escape. She felt as though it was her duty to help the soldiers, despite being warned by friends that she was being watched by the Germans(www.worldwar1.com). This clearly shows that Edith had such a strong sense of altruism

She is recognized as a hero by Europe and America and other small countries, and one Allied journalist wrote about her, “ “What Jeanne d’Arc has been for centuries to France...that will Edith Cavell become to the future generations of Britons(www.history.com).” Edith Cavell saved people she barely knew, she died for them, she had an incredible influence in the hospital she worked at, and her compassion pushed her to never turn any wounded soldier away, despite being an Allied soldier or a German soldier. She is a hero who changed the futures of many soldiers as well as everyday