Background Information
The National Archives publishes
a very useful research guide, British
Army: Nurses and Nursing Services which gives an overview
to the subject of military nursing, along with a list of records
held both at the National Archives and elsewhere.
The records listed that concern nurses in the Crimea are:
c.1851-c.1856 Letters of recommendation for nurses applying
to go to the Crimea, arranged alphabetically in bundles WO
25/264
1853-1857 Nurses in the Crimea. Correspondence and memoranda WO
43/963
1855-1858 Lists of ladies, nurses and orderlies embarked for
England from the Crimea WO
43/991
If you are able to visit the National Archives you can use Document
Ordering to
order the documents WO
25/264.These
were delivered a very large box, packed with letters. Fortunately
the letters
were grouped alphabetically, so a search of the “D” bundle
produced the letter from Elizabeth Davis.
To obtain copies of documents held at the National Archives
if you are not able to visit in person you can search
The Catalogue and then order copies of documents. However
the catalogue does not contain the names of individual nurses,
so it might be better to employ an independent
researcher.
Other bundles in the same box contained interesting documents
including the Memorandum of Agreement shown on the introduction
page.
General background information was obtained by performing internet
searches using google.
Profile of Elizabeth Davis
This information was provided by Eirionedd A. Baskerville from
Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/National
Library Wales.
The information about Elizabeth Davis is very sparse. Despite
the excellent biography it was not possible to trace her birth
or death certificates or any census entries for the only known
address
(shown on the letter to the Sidney Herbert) via the Family
Records Centre.
Bibliography from Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru/National
Library Wales
The Autobiography of Elizabeth Davis, A Balaclava Nurse, Daughter
of Dafydd Cadwaladyr edited by Jane Williams (Ysgafell). Two
volumes (London, Hurst & Blacket, 1857).
The Autobiography of Elizabeth Davis. Betsy Cadwaladyr: A Balaclava
Nurse edited by Jane Williams (Ysgafell), with a new introduction
by Deirdre Beddoe. (Dinas Powys, HONNO, 1987). ISBN 1-870206-00-2.
http://www.honno.co.uk
Entry
for Elizabeth Davi(e)s in The Dictionary of Welsh Biography
down to 1940 (London, The Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion,
1959). See also the entry for Dafydd Cadwaladyr.
See our partner page for more information on the National Library
of Wales
Other sources
The Florence Nightingale Collection at the London
Metropolitan Archives (ref. H1/ST/NC)
Florence Nightingale Museum
Pathways to the Past - Trafalgar to Korea
Exhibition
The National Army Museum are hosting "The
British Army
and the Crimean War" exhibition. It opens on October
3rd 2003 and features a case devoted exclusively to Florence
Nightingale
containing
exhibits of the highest quality and a life-sized model
of Mary
Seacole. There is also a chapter on 'Women and the
Crimea' in
the accompanying exhibition catalogue. The show is anticipated
to run until 2005. For more information see the
National Army Museum website.
Further Reading
One hundred years of Army nursing: the
story of the British Army Nursing Services from the time of
Florence Nightingale to
the
present day
Ian Hay (Major-General John Hay Beith,
M.C.). - London : Cassell, 1953. - 387p., 16p. of plates: ill.,
maps
; 22cm. - index.
Imperial War Museum, Department
of Printed Books Classification:
02(41).8181/1
Imperial War Museum, Department
of Printed Books Accession No.: 32090
Angels and Citizens. British Women as Military Nurses
1854-1914
Anne
Summers.
Publisher:
Threshold Press Ltd
ISBN: 190315202X
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