Florence Nightingale and the Red Cross
| Florence Nightingale carried out pioneering work during the Crimean War (1853-1856) to improve the care of sick and wounded soldiers. She introduced women nurses into military hospitals, set up kitchens to provide suitable diets for the invalids, provided recreational facilities for convalescents and improved the distribution of supplies. These principles have been the basis for much Red Cross work in later wars.
Florence Nightingale was determined to achieve the best for the patients in very difficult conditions. Her work proved an inspiration to the founder of the Red Cross movement, Henry Dunant. Dunant’s own later experiences at the Battle of Solferino in 1859 led to the establishment of the International Committee of the Red Cross in 1863 and eventually to the setting up of societies of trained Red Cross volunteers in many countries throughout the world.
The British Red Cross Society was founded in 1870 by Colonel Robert Loyd-Lindsay. Florence Nightingale herself approved of this work and she became a member of the Ladies’ Committee of the Society.
She continued to take an interest in Red Cross work until her death in 1910.
The International Committee of the Red Cross instituted the Florence Nightingale Medal in 1912, to be awarded annually to nurses who had given exceptional care to the sick and wounded in war or peace. This medal is still awarded today. | |
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