German military law has a long history.
82-773: The Edith Cavell Memorial is an outdoor memorial to Edith Cavell by Sir George Frampton , in London, United Kingdom. The memorial is sited in St Martin's Place, beside the A400 , just outside the northeast corner of Trafalgar Square , north of St Martin-in-the-Fields , east of the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery , and south of the London Coliseum . The site is adjacent to
164-516: A Franc-Tireur ", and attempting to ram and sink SM U-33 on 28 March, 1915. The trial, verdict, and death sentence were also covert retaliation for Winston Churchill 's orders to both the Royal Navy and British merchant seaman to unleash total war against U-boat crews, which had already resulted in one of the most infamous British war crimes of the Great War, which also led directly to
246-513: A martyr ... but she was ready to die for her country ... Miss Cavell was a very brave woman and a faithful Christian ". Another account from Anglican chaplain, the Reverend Gahan, remembers Cavell's words, "I have no fear or shrinking; I have seen death so often it is not strange, or fearful to me!" In this interpretation, her stoicism was seen as remarkable for a non-combatant woman, and brought her even greater renown than
328-483: A 10 feet (3.0 m) high statue of Cavell in her nurse's uniform sculpted from white Carrara marble , standing on a grey Cornish granite pedestal. The statue stands in front of the south side of a larger grey granite pylon which stands 40 feet (12 m) high and weighs 175 tons. The top of the block is carved into a cross and statue of a mother and child, sometimes interpreted as the Virgin and Child . The whole memorial
410-593: A German firing squad on 12 October 1915. Her story was used in British propaganda as an example of German barbarism and moral depravity. Her remains were initially buried in Belgium, but returned to Britain after the war in May 1919 for a state funeral at Westminster Abbey before she was finally buried at Norwich Cathedral . Although Cavell's sister, Lilian Wainwright, suggested that no monuments should be erected, funds for
492-949: A German national. She may have been recruited by the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), and turned away from her espionage duties in order to help Allied soldiers escape, although this is not widely accepted. Rankin cites the published statement of M. R. D. Foot , historian and Second World War British intelligence officer, as to Cavell having been part of SIS or MI6. The former director-general of MI5, Stella Rimington , announced in 2015 that she had unearthed documents in Belgian military archives that confirmed an intelligence-gathering aspect to Cavell's network. The BBC Radio 4 programme that presented Rimington's quote, noted Cavell's use of secret codes and, though amateurish, other network members' successful transmission of intelligence. When in custody, Cavell
574-672: A UK commemorative £5 coin, part of a set issued in 2015 by the Royal Mint to mark the centenary of the war. On 12 October that year a bust in the Montjoiepark in Uccle , Belgium, was inaugurated by Princess Anne, Princess Royal of Great Britain and Princess Astrid of Belgium . 2015 also saw a tombstone-shaped monument erected in the memorial garden dedicated to her in Inverness. On the centenary of her execution, an event funded by
656-582: A fellow British Intelligence field agent for La Dame Blanche spy ring in occupied Belgium, was similarly court-martialed as a civilian subject to service discipline , convicted of espionage, and executed by firing squad on 1 April 1916. After his civilian merchant ship was captured off German-occupied Belgium, English captain Charles Fryatt was court-martialled by the German Imperial Navy for "illegal civilian warfare", "being
738-569: A knight was deemed to have a duty to prevent", and of personally committing perjury , Hagenbach replied that he could not be held criminally responsible because he only followed orders from the Duke of Burgundy , Charles the Bold , against whose rule the city of Breisach had rebelled. The court, however, rejected the superior orders defence. Peter von Hagenbach was found guilty of war crimes and executed by beheading at Breisgach on 4 May 1474. Despite
820-471: A man in similar circumstances would have received. The Imperial German Government thought that it had acted fairly towards Cavell. In a letter, German Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs, Alfred Zimmermann (not to be confused with Arthur Zimmermann , German Secretary for Foreign Affairs) made a statement to the press on behalf of the German government: It was a pity that Miss Cavell had to be executed, but it
902-583: A memorial on the Kent & East Sussex Railway and is usually open to view at Bodiam railway station , though during October 2015 it was placed on display outside the Forum , Norwich. From Victoria the body was processed to Westminster Abbey for a state funeral on 15 May, before finally being reburied at the east side of Norwich Cathedral on 19 May, where a graveside service is still held each October. Following Cavell's death, many memorials were created around
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#1732781145544984-808: A memorial service, performed live on BBC Radio 4 on 11 October 2015. In addition to cathedral clergy, guests such as General Richard Dannatt , and actress Matilda Ziegler performed various spoken vignettes organised by Canon Peter Doll. Anto Morra sang unaccompanied his "Edith Louisa Cavell" lyrics to a tune written by Percy Paradise. The centenary was also marked by two new musical compositions. The 40-minute oratorio Eventide: In Memoriam Edith Cavell by Patrick Hawes premiered in Norwich Cathedral in July 2014 and had its London premiere in St Clement Danes , The Strand, London on 12 October 2015,
1066-515: A midnight deputation of appeal for mercy or at least postponement of execution. Despite these efforts, on 11 October, Baron von der Lancken allowed the execution to proceed. Sixteen men, forming two firing squads, carried out the sentence pronounced on her and on four Belgian men at the Tir national shooting range in Schaerbeek , at 7:00 am on 12 October 1915. There are conflicting reports of
1148-591: A previous defender, who was chosen for Cavell by her assistant, Elizabeth Wilkins, was ultimately rejected by the governor. The night before her execution, Cavell told the Reverend H Stirling Gahan, the Anglican chaplain of Christ Church Brussels, who had been allowed to see her and to give her Holy Communion , "I am thankful to have had these ten weeks of quiet to get ready. Now I have had them and have been kindly treated here. I expected my sentence and I believe it
1230-526: A public memorial were raised by a committee chaired by Harry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham , owner of The Daily Telegraph , together with the Lord Mayor of London , the Bishop of London , and the chairman of London County Council . Sculptor Sir George Frampton accepted the commission in 1915, but declined any fee. Frampton adopted a distinctively Modernist style for the memorial, which comprises
1312-564: A reply to enemy attempts to justify her shooting, including the suggestion that Cavell, during her interrogation, had given information that incriminated others. In November 1915, the British Foreign Office issued a denial that Cavell had implicated anyone else in her testimony. One image commonly represented was of Cavell as an innocent victim of a ruthless and dishonourable enemy. This view depicted her as having helped Allied soldiers to escape, but innocent of 'espionage', and
1394-551: A side of Cavell during the First World War saw her described as a serious, reserved, brave, and patriotic woman who devoted her life to nursing and died to save others. This portrayal has been illustrated in numerous biographical sources, from personal first-hand experiences of the Red Cross nurse. Pastor Le Seur, the German army chaplain, recalled at the time of her execution, "I do not believe that Miss Cavell wanted to be
1476-578: A statement the day before the trial. Cavell declared that the soldiers she had helped escape thanked her in writing when they arrived safely in Britain. This admission confirmed that Cavell had not only helped the soldiers navigate the Dutch frontier, but it also established that she helped them escape to a country at war with Germany. Her fellow defendants included Prince Reginald's sister, Princess Marie of Croÿ . The penalty, according to German military law,
1558-623: A temporary post as matron of the Manchester and Salford Sick and Poor and Private Nursing Institution, working there for about nine months. In 1907, Cavell was recruited by Dr. Antoine Depage , the Belgian royal surgeon, and the founder and president of the Belgian Red Cross , to be matron of a newly established nursing school, L'École Belge d'Infirmières Diplômées (or the Berkendael Medical Institute) on
1640-488: Is elevated on three steps. On the pedestal beneath the statue of Cavell is an inscription which reads: "Edith Cavell // Brussels // Dawn // October 12th 1915 // Patriotism is not enough // I must have no hatred or // bitterness for anyone." The last three lines of the inscription quote her comment to Reverend Stirling Gahan, an Anglican chaplain who was permitted to give her Holy Communion on the night before her execution. These words were initially left off, and added in 1924 at
1722-487: Is known to have stated that Cavell should be pardoned because of her complete honesty and because she had helped save so many lives, German as well as Allied. However, General von Sauberzweig , the military governor of Brussels, ordered that "in the interests of the State" the implementation of the death penalty against Baucq and Cavell should be immediate, denying higher authorities an opportunity to consider clemency. Cavell
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#17327811455441804-570: Is likely to go hard with Miss Cavell; I am afraid we are powerless." Lord Robert Cecil , Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, advised that, "Any representation by us will do her more harm than good." The United States , however, had not yet joined the war and was in a position to apply diplomatic pressure. Hugh S. Gibson , Secretary to the U.S. Legation at Brussels, made clear to the German government that executing Cavell would further harm Germany's already damaged reputation. Later, he wrote: We reminded [German civil governor Baron von der Lancken] of
1886-602: Is safe, and that I am glad to die for my country." From his sick bed Brand Whitlock , the U.S. ambassador to Belgium, wrote a personal note on Cavell's behalf to Moritz von Bissing , the Governor-General of Belgium. Hugh Gibson; Maitre G. de Leval, the legal adviser to the United States legation; and Rodrigo de Saavedra y Vinent [ es ] , 2nd Marques de Villalobar, the Spanish minister, formed
1968-546: The American Journal of Nursing repeated the fictional account of Cavell's execution in which she fainted and fell because of her refusal to wear a blindfold in front of the firing squad. Allegedly, while she lay unconscious, the German commanding officer shot her dead with a revolver. Because of the British Government's decision to publicise Cavell's story as part of its propaganda effort, she became
2050-477: The Edith Cavell Memorial opposite the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery near Trafalgar Square . Her strong Anglican beliefs propelled her to help all those who needed it, including both German and Allied soldiers. She was quoted as saying, "I can't stop while there are lives to be saved." The Church of England commemorates her in its Calendar of Saints on 12 October. Cavell, who
2132-942: The French Army on the Western Front , and the Baralong Incidents and other alleged British war crimes on both land and at sea. Following complaints by the British Foreign Office , Imperial German Army Sergeant Karl Heynen , was court martialed for allegedly using unnecessary brutality against 200 British and 40 Russian POWs, who were under his command as forced labourers at the Friedrich der Grosse coal mine at Herne , in Westphalia . Sgt. Heynen stood accused of regularly using corporal punishment , including his fists and rifle butt and
2214-690: The German lands had existed since the Early modern period . The trial of Peter von Hagenbach by an ad hoc tribunal of the Holy Roman Empire in 1474 was the first "international" recognition of commanders' obligations to act lawfully. Hagenbach was put on trial for atrocities committed during the Burgundian Wars against the civilians of Breisach . Standing accused of allowing his troops to commit mass murder and war rape , which, "he as
2296-686: The Lusitania , Cavell's execution was widely publicised in both Britain and North America by Wellington House , the British War Propaganda Bureau. She was a popular icon because of her sex, her nursing profession, and her apparently heroic approach to death. Her execution was represented as an act of German barbarism and moral depravity - very much at variance with Cavell's own clearly stated wish to have "no hatred or bitterness towards anyone." News reports shortly after Cavell's execution were found to be only true in part. Even
2378-872: The Nazi German government after it had seized power during the Machtergreifung and enacted a special law on 12 May 1933. Initially the Reichsgericht in Leipzig, from 1 December 1934 the " People's Court " ( Volksgerichtshof ) in Berlin, acted as final appellate court until the Reichskriegsgericht (RKG) was established as high court of the Wehrmacht armed forces by another directive with effect from 1 October 1936. The Reichskriegsgericht
2460-835: The Prussian -led Unification of Germany , the German Empire with effect from 1 October 1900 established a particular court-martial jurisdiction ( German : Militärgerichtsbarkeit ) to try soldiers of the German Army , with the Reichsmilitärgericht (RMG) in Charlottenburg as the supreme court . In Prussia it replaced the Generalauditoriat agency, while the Kingdom of Bavaria retained
2542-676: The Red Orchestra . In 1943 the court was transferred to Torgau , where it was based until the end of the war. In 1951 the building became the temporarily base of the Berlin Kammergericht (appellate court), since 2005 it is a private estate. After the German Instrument of Surrender , Nazi courts martial were not abolished by the Allied Control Council until 20 August 1946. In 2002 and 2009
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2624-722: The University of Salford took place at Sacred Trinity where historian Sir Ian Kershaw and Christine Hallett of the UK Centre for the History of Nursing and Midwifery, spoke. The memorial on her grave was renewed in 2016. On 4 December 2018 a Google Doodle was created to celebrate her 153rd birthday. The centenary of her repatriation in May 2019 was marked by another half-muffled peal of bells at St Martin's Church in Dover. German military law Drumhead courts-martial in
2706-513: The burning of Louvain and the sinking of the Lusitania , and told him that this murder would rank with those two affairs and would stir all civilized countries with horror and disgust. Count Harrach broke in at this with the rather irrelevant remark that he would rather see Miss Cavell shot than have harm come to the humblest German soldier, and his only regret was that they had not "three or four old English women to shoot." Baron von der Lancken
2788-658: The laws of war , the official repeal of criminal prosecution led to widespread hostage -taking, mass executions , burning and looting by German forces. At the same time, according to historian Alfred Maurice de Zayas , senior Wehrmacht commanders with more traditional views of service honour insisted upon court martial prosecutions of German soldiers who stood accused of crimes against civilians in occupied countries or for massacres or other mistreatment of POWs. In fact, there are numerous documented cases of court martial convictions and even executions by hanging or firing squad in such cases. Furthermore, several senior officials of
2870-489: The (German) occupation'. Benn wrote a detailed account titled "Wie Miss Cavell erschossen wurde" ( How Miss Cavell was shot , 1928). There is also a dispute over the sentencing imposed under the German Military Code. Supposedly, the death penalty relevant to the offence committed by Cavell was not officially declared until a few hours after her death. The British post-war Committee of Enquiry into Breaches of
2952-577: The First World War broke out, Cavell was visiting her widowed mother in Norfolk. She returned to Brussels, where her clinic and nursing school were taken over by the Red Cross . In November 1914, after the German occupation of Brussels , Cavell began sheltering British soldiers and funnelling them out of occupied Belgium to the neutral Netherlands . Wounded British and French soldiers as well as Belgian and French civilians of military age were hidden from
3034-552: The German Bundestag parliament finally passed bills to suspend the verdicts against Wehrmacht for desertion and homosexual activity as well as against "war traitors ". Since 1949, the Federal Republic of Germany has no special military courts . Criminal acts committed by soldiers are tried in ordinary criminal courts by civilian judges. Article 96 paragraph 2 of German Basic Law ( Grundgesetz ) allows
3116-797: The German Admiralty's decision to adopt unrestricted submarine warfare : the 19 August 1915 massacre by the Royal Navy of the shipwrecked crew of SM U-27 in the Baralong incidents . Charles Fryatt was executed by a Naval firing squad in Bruges on 27 July 1916. After World War I , the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), abolished separate courts-martial by Article 106 of the Weimar Constitution , but they were revived by
3198-473: The German police (on 8, 18 and 22 August), admitting that she had been instrumental in conveying about 60 British and 15 French soldiers, as well as about 100 French and Belgian civilians of military age, to the frontier and had sheltered most of them in her house. At her court-martial , Cavell was prosecuted for aiding British and French soldiers, and young Belgian men, to cross the Dutch border and eventually enter Britain. She admitted her guilt when she signed
3280-591: The Germans and provided with false papers by Prince Réginald de Croÿ at his château of Bellignies near Mons. From there, they were conducted by various guides to the houses of Cavell, Louis Séverin, and others in Brussels, where their hosts would furnish them with money to reach the Dutch frontier, and provide them with guides obtained through Philippe Baucq. This placed Cavell in violation of German military law . German authorities became increasingly suspicious of
3362-594: The Laws of War however regarded the verdict as legally correct. On instructions from the Spanish minister, Belgian women immediately buried Cavell's body next to Saint-Gilles Prison. After the war, her body was taken back to Britain for a memorial service at Westminster Abbey and then transferred to Norwich , to be laid to rest at Life's Green on the east side of the cathedral. The King had to grant an exception to an Order in Council of 1854, which prevented any burials in
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3444-427: The POWs under his command with summary execution if they did not immediately return to work during an attempted strike action . Sgt. Heynen was court-martialed , found guilty, and sentenced to fourteen days' "detention in a fortress", with suspended sentence until after the end of the war. Heynen was reassigned to active service at the Front and subsequently awarded the Iron Cross for courage under enemy fire. At
3526-449: The Roman legal principle of Ignorantia juris non excusat , ignorance of the law were often taken very seriously by German military courts in the German Empire, and were sometimes considered grounds for granting leniency. The Prussian Ministry of War also founded a Bureau to investigate allegations of both Allied and German war crimes , including alleged Franc-Tireur activity by Belgian civilians, 157 alleged massacres of German POWs by
3608-405: The Rue de la Culture (now Rue Franz Merjay), in Ixelles , Brussels. By 1910, "Miss Cavell 'felt that the profession of nursing had gained sufficient foothold in Belgium to warrant the publishing of a professional journal' and launched the nursing journal, L'infirmière ". Within a year, she was training nurses for three hospitals, twenty-four schools, and thirteen kindergartens in Belgium. Cavell
3690-402: The age of 30, Cavell applied to become a nurse probationer at the London Hospital and commenced as a regular probationer at the London Hospital in September 1896 under Matron Eva Luckes . Cavell was seconded to work with other London Hospital nurses in the Maidstone typhoid epidemic , from 15 October 1897 until early January 1898, while still a probationer. Along with other staff, she
3772-405: The convicted people were thoroughly aware of the nature of their acts. The court paid particular attention to this point, releasing several people because there was doubt as to whether the accused knew that their actions were punishable. The condemned, in contrast, knew full well what they were doing and the punishment for committing their crimes because "numerous public proclamations had pointed out
3854-407: The deaths of sovereigns. All the ringers were former soldiers, including Frederick W Elliot, formerly King's Royal Rifle Corps , who had been a prisoner of war in Germany for eight months. Her body was transferred to a railway van and lay in state on the pier overnight before departing from Dover Harbour station for London Victoria station. Becoming known as the Cavell Van , that van is kept as
3936-408: The details of Cavell's execution. However, according to the eyewitness account of the Reverend Le Seur, who attended Cavell in her final hours, eight soldiers fired at Cavell while the other eight executed Baucq. Her execution, certification of death, and burial were witnessed by the German war poet Gottfried Benn in his capacity as a 'Senior Doctor in the Brussels Government since the first days of
4018-404: The enemy", a crime normally punishable by life imprisonment in peacetime. It was possible to charge Cavell with perfidy , or war treason ( German : Kriegsverrat ), as paragraph 160 of the German Military Code extended application of paragraph 58 to foreigners "present in the zone of war". While the First Geneva Convention ordinarily guaranteed protection of medical personnel, such protection
4100-404: The exact centenary of her death. The Belgian Edith Cavell Commemoration Group also commissioned a 20-minute-long setting of the Latin Mass by David Mitchell for the centenary - it premiered in Holy Trinity Pro-Cathedral, Brussels on 10 October 2015, in the same choir stalls where Cavell sang in 1915, with Haydn's Missa in Angustiis also performed at the same concert. Cavell was featured on
4182-405: The fact that aiding enemies’ armies was punishable with death." Cavell's remains were returned to Britain after the war, sailing from Ostend aboard the destroyer HMS Rowena and landing at Admiralty Pier in Dover on 14 May 1919. Cavell's was one of only three sets of British remains repatriated following the end of the War, the others being Charles Fryatt and The Unknown Warrior . As
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#17327811455444264-439: The fact there was no explicit use of the term command responsibility , the trial of Peter von Hagenbach is seen as the first war crimes prosecution based on this principle. During the Thirty Years' War several Imperial states established military tribunals modelled on the jurisdiction of the Swedish Army . In Brandenburg-Prussia , justice was dispensed by special Auditeur attorneys through three official channels. After
4346-411: The field. The use of "flying" refers to their mobility and may also refer to the earlier "flying courts martial" held in Italian Libya . Italian military judges were flown by aircraft to the location of captured rebels where the rebels were tried in a court martial shortly after capture. Between 1939 and 1945 the Reichskriegsgericht in Berlin was responsible for over 1,400 executions including those by
4428-431: The first and last resort for 44 criminal offenses under penalty of death such as the following: With the arms buildup and continued warfare, the number of Wehrmacht courts-martial increased to over 1,000. On 13 May 1941 Hitler had Keitel pass a directive, according to which any Wehrmacht officer had the authority to execute accused civilians in the area of Operation Barbarossa and the Eastern Front without trial. Against
4510-476: The first headquarters of the British Red Cross , originally located at 7 St Martin's Place. Cavell was a British nurse from Norfolk. She was matron at Berkendael Medical Institute in Brussels when the First World War broke out in 1914. In addition to nursing soldiers from both sides without distinction, she assisted some 200 Allied soldiers to escape from German-occupied Belgium. She was arrested in August 1915, court-martialled, found guilty of treason, and shot by
4592-402: The government to create specialised military courts in case of war and for soldiers sent abroad, subject to a federal law. Such a law has not been passed. Smaller offences are being handled by disciplinary courts which are attached to the administrative court system. They may only pronounce disciplinary punishments, but no criminal sentences (e.g. no imprisonment, except 21 days of detention in
4674-401: The grounds of the cathedral, to allow the reburial. In the months and years following Cavell's death, countless newspaper articles, pamphlets, images, and books publicised her story. She became an iconic propaganda figure for military recruitment in Britain, and to help increase favourable sentiment towards the Allies in the United States. Along with the invasion of Belgium, and the sinking of
4756-525: The insistence of the British Government after the Armistice, however, double jeopardy was set aside and Sgt. Heynen was retried at the Leipzig war crimes trials for the same offences. Of those enemy nationals who were prosecuted, especially well-known is the case of Edith Cavell , a British Intelligence operative under International Red Cross cover, who was court-martialled and sentenced to death in Occupied Belgium for, among many other things, helping an estimated 200 escaped British POW 's to cross
4838-470: The legal departments of the German armed forces became involved in the German resistance to Nazism . Several military lawyers and judges, including Karl Sack , Rudolf Schleicher , and Helmuth James von Moltke , were executed by following the failure of the July 20th Plot against the life of Adolf Hitler . On March 8, 1945, Chancellor Adolf Hitler authorized the use of Fliegendes Sonder-Standgericht (Flying Courts-Martial) to try German armed forces in
4920-462: The lines and return to active service – which in wartime was indeed a death penalty offence for civilians under the German military law in the German Empire . Cavell was also convicted of perfidy , for having used the international legal protection given by her position as a Red Cross nurse as a cover for belligerent activity during wartime. Cavell was executed by firing squad on October 12, 1915. Belgian national Gabrielle Petit ,
5002-412: The most prominent British female casualty of the First World War. The combination of heroic appeal and a resonant atrocity-story narrative made Cavell's case one of the most effective in British propaganda of the First World War. Before the First World War, Cavell was not well known outside nursing circles. This allowed two different depictions of the truth about her in British propaganda , which were
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#17327811455445084-409: The nurse's actions, which were further fuelled by her outspokenness. Cavell was arrested on 3 August 1915 and charged with harbouring Allied soldiers. She had been betrayed by Georges Gaston Quien, who was later convicted by a French court as a collaborator. Cavell was held in Saint-Gilles prison for ten weeks, the last two of which were spent in solitary confinement. She made three depositions to
5166-442: The request of the National Council of Women . The face of the granite block behind the statue of Cavell bears the inscription "Humanity", and higher up, below the Virgin and Child, "For King and Country". Other faces of the block bear the inscriptions, "Devotion", "Fortitude", and "Sacrifice". On the rear face of the block is a carving of a lion crushing a serpent, and higher up, the inscription, "Faithful until death". The memorial
5248-504: The right to pass judgements to members of the Bavarian Army by a separate (the 3rd) senate. The presiding judge in the rank of a general or admiral was appointed directly by the German Emperor . During World War I , Imperial German military courts routinely tried both their own soldiers, POWs, and civilians, who were alleged to have knowingly violated German military law. Whenever the evidence gave them credibility, defense arguments of both superior orders and also, in contradiction of
5330-421: The ship arrived, a full peal of Grandsire Triples (5040 Changes, Parker's Twelve-Part) was rung on the bells of St Mary's Church in the town. A plaque commemorating the peal in the church's bell-ringing chamber states it was "Rung with the bells deeply muffled with the exception of the Tenor which was open at back stroke, in token of respect to Nurse Cavell.” Deep (or full) muffling is normally only used for
5412-540: The view that it was up to the responsible men to follow their legal duty to Germany and ignore the world's condemnation. Its laws did not make distinctions between sexes; the only exception to this being that, according to legal customs, women in a "delicate" (probably this means "pregnant") condition should not be executed. However, in January 1916, the Kaiser decreed that, from then on, capital punishment should not be carried out on women without his explicit prior endorsement. The German government also believed that all of
5494-538: The world to remember her. Although the centenary of her death was in 2015, she was also remembered by three new musical pieces in 2014 during commemorations of the outbreak of World War One - To commemorate the centenary of her death in 2015, work went ahead to restore Cavell's grave in the grounds of Norwich Cathedral after being awarded a £50,000 grant and was completed in 2016. and fourteen paintings by Brian Whelan were commissioned by Norwich Cathedral to commemorate Cavell's life and death. Norwich Cathedral held
5576-478: Was 49 at the time of her execution, was already notable as a pioneer of modern nursing in Belgium . Cavell was born on 4 December 1865 in Swardeston , a village near Norwich , where her father was vicar for 45 years. She was the eldest of the four children of the Reverend Frederick Cavell (1824–1910) and his wife Louisa Sophia Warming (1835–1918). Edith's siblings were Florence Mary (1867-1950), Mary Lilian (1870-1967) and John Frederick Scott (1872–1923). Cavell
5658-454: Was also tried for having allegedly driven a British POW named Cross insane through various cruelties, including throwing the POW into a shower bath with alternating hot and cold water, for half an hour. It was further alleged that, after a British POW named MacDonald had escaped and been recaptured, that Heynen had hit MacDonald with his rifle butt, knocked him down and kicked him. Also, on October 14, 1915, Heynen stood accused of having threatened
5740-447: Was arrested, court-martialled under German military law and sentenced to death by firing squad . Despite international pressure for mercy, the German government refused to commute her sentence, and she was shot. The execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage. The night before her execution, she said, "Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone". These words were inscribed on
5822-562: Was awarded the Maidstone Typhoid Medal. After her training, Cavell worked from October 1898 to December 1899 as a private nurse employed by the Private Nursing Institution of the London Hospital, treating patients in their homes. Cavell travelled to tend patients with cancer, gout, pneumonia, pleurisy, eye issues and appendicitis. In 1901, Luckes recommended Cavell for the position of night superintendent of St Pancras Infirmary . In November 1903, she became assistant matron of St Leonard's Infirmary in Shoreditch . In 1906, Cavell took
5904-511: Was based in the former RMG building on Witzlebenstraße in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin . A directive on a special criminal law of war was already enacted on 17 August 1938 by OKW chief Wilhelm Keitel at the behest of Führer Adolf Hitler . From the beginning of World War II , the court convicted not only Wehrmacht members but also prisoners-of-war and civilians in the area of operations . The Reichskriegsgericht acted as
5986-493: Was death. Paragraph 58 of the German Military Code determined that "In time of war, anyone who, with the intention of aiding a hostile power, or of causing harm to German or allied troops", commits any of the crimes defined in paragraph 90 of the German Penal Code "shall be punished with death for war treason". Specifically, Cavell was charged under paragraph 90 (1) no. 3 Reichsstrafgesetzbuch , for "conveying troops to
6068-700: Was educated at Norwich High School for Girls , then at boarding schools in Clevedon , Somerset, and Peterborough (Laurel Court). After a period as a governess, including for a family in Brussels from 1890 to 1895, Cavell returned home to care for her father during a serious illness. The experience led her to become a nurse after her father's recovery. Cavell worked as a nurse at the Fountain Fever Hospital in Tooting from December 1895. At
6150-463: Was forfeit if medical practices were seen to be used as cover for belligerent action. This forfeiture is expressed in article 7 of the 1906 version of the convention, which was the version in force at the time, and justified prosecution under German military law. The British government could therefore do nothing to help her. Sir Horace Rowland of the Foreign Office said, "I am afraid that it
6232-528: Was just. 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." These words are inscribed on her statues in London and in Melbourne, Australia. Cavell's final words to the German Lutheran prison chaplain, Paul Le Seur, were recorded as, "Ask Father Gahan to tell my loved ones later on that my soul, as I believe,
6314-431: Was most commonly used in various forms of British propaganda, such as postcards and newspaper illustrations during the war. Her story was presented in the British press as a means of fuelling a desire for revenge on the battlefield. These images implied that men must enlist in the armed forces immediately in order to stop forces that could arrange the judicial murder of an innocent British woman. Another representation of
6396-506: Was necessary. She was judged justly ... It is undoubtedly a terrible thing that the woman has been executed; but consider what would happen to a State, particularly in war, if it left crimes aimed at the safety of its armies to go unpunished because they were committed by women. From the perspective of the German government, had it released Cavell there might have been a surge in the number of women participating in acts against Germany because they knew they would not be severely punished. It took
6478-403: Was offered a position as matron in a Brussels clinic. She worked closely with Depage, who was part of a "growing body of people" in the medical profession in Belgium. He realised that the care that was being provided by the religious institutions had not been keeping up with medical advances. In 1910, Cavell was asked if she would be the matron for the new secular hospital at Saint-Gilles . When
6560-466: Was questioned in French, but her trial was minuted in German; which some assert gave the prosecutor the opportunity to misinterpret her answers. Although she may have been misrepresented, she made no attempt to defend herself, but responded to have channelled " environ deux cents " ("about two hundred") soldiers to the Dutch border. Cavell was provided with a defender approved by the German military governor;
6642-452: Was represented by defence lawyer Sadi Kirschen from Brussels. Of the twenty-seven defendants, five were condemned to death: Cavell, Baucq (an architect in his thirties), Louise Thuliez , Séverin and Countess Jeanne de Belleville. Of the five sentenced to death, only Cavell and Baucq were executed; the other three were granted reprieves. Cavell was arrested not for espionage, as many were led to believe, but for "war treason", despite not being
6724-549: Was unveiled by Queen Alexandra on 17 March 1920. It received a Grade II listing in 1970, and was upgraded to a Grade I listing in 2014. Edith Cavell Edith Louisa Cavell ( / ˈ k æ v əl / KAV -əl ; 4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) was a British nurse. She is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium. Cavell
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