In March 1854 the Crimean War began. Britain, France and Turkey declared war on Russia and invaded the Crimean Peninsula. The allies defeated the Russians in September at the battle of the Alma but reports in The Times newspaper criticised the British Army’s medical treatment of the wounded soldiers. In response, Sidney Herbert, the Minister of War, who knew Florence Nightingale socially and through her work as a nurse, appointed her to supervise the introduction of female nurses into the military hospitals in Turkey. (The British Army fought the Russians in the Crimean Peninsula but the wounded were taken across the Black Sea to hospitals in Turkey.)

On 4 November 1854 Florence Nightingale and her party of 38 nurses arrived at the Barrack Hospital in Scutari. Conditions were very bad. The men were unwashed and were sleeping in overcrowded, dirty rooms without blankets or decent food. In these conditions diseases such as typhus, cholera and dysentery spread quickly. As a result, the death rate amongst wounded soldiers was very high. Only one in six died from their war wounds; the other five in six died from infections and disease. To begin with the army doctors did not want the nurses there and did not ask for their help, but within ten days more wounded soldiers arrived from the battle of Inkermann and the nurses were very busy.

Florence Nightingale realised that if female nurses were to be accepted then they had to do a very good job. It was very important that the women recruited to become nurses should be well suited to the work.

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy on 12th May 1820. She was named after her birthplace. Her parents, William and Frances Nightingale, were a wealthy couple who had toured Europe for four years on their honeymoon. As Florence grew up she developed an interest in helping others. She made visits to the homes of the sick in the local villages and began to investigate hospitals and nursing. At first her parents refused to allow her to become a nurse because, at that time, it was not thought to be a suitable profession for a well educated woman. But Florence did not give up. Eventually in 1851 her father gave his permission and Florence, now aged thirty-one, went to Germany where she trained to become a nurse. Two years later, in 1853, Florence was appointed resident lady superintendent of a hospital for gentlewomen in Harley Street, London.

As a result of Florence Nightingale’s work abroad, wounded soldiers received much better treatment. This led to a dramatic fall in the death rate of her patients. The use of female nurses was seen as a great success. In 1856 when Florence returned to England she was a national heroine. She had been deeply shocked by the lack of hygiene and care that the wounded soldiers were given by the British Army. She began a campaign to improve the quality of nursing in military hospitals. In October 1856 she had a long interview with Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The following year she gave evidence to the 1857 Sanitary Commission. This eventually resulted in the setting up of the Army Medical College.

In 1859, to spread her opinions on nursing, Florence published a book called ‘Notes on Nursing’. This laid down the principles of nursing, careful observation and sensitivity to the patient’s needs. It is still in print. In the next year, with money from the public, Florence founded the Nightingale School & Home for Nurses at St. Thomas' Hospital in London. Florence had learned that employing the right sort of women and training them was essential if they were to become good nurses. From then until her death Florence lived in London and encouraged the development of nursing, both in Britain and abroad. Her greatest achievement, and the reason why we remember her, is that she made nursing a respectable profession for women.

The Florence Nightingale Museum - http://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk

Illustration: Florence Nightingale, 1866 (PRO ref: COPY 1/11 F34)
Source 1: An extract from the ‘Report upon the state of the hospitals of the British Army in the Crimea and Scutari’, 1855 (PRO ref: WO 33/1)
Source 2: ‘One of the wards of the hospital at Scutari’, an illustration published 21 April 1856 by Paul & Dominic Colnaghi & Co
Source 3: An example of the agreement or contract that each new nurse had to sign, 1854 (PRO ref: WO 43/963)

The documents are designed for use in Key Stage 1 as part of an enquiry into Florence Nightingale and are intended to be read to pupils by their teacher. They can also designed for use in Key Stage 2 as part of a study of the Victorians.

Schemes of Work
Q.C.A. Unit 4: Why do we remember Florence Nightingale?