Photograph of the statue of Mary Seacole, Jamaican born nurse unveiled at St Thomas’s Hospital, 2016 © Wikimedia Commons
When the Crimean War broke out Mary Seacole was determined to help. She was rejected by British authorities and Florence Nightingale in 1854 to nurse and so paid for her own passage to the Crimea. She worked on the battle front giving out medicine and food and set up the “British Hotel” with Thomas Day behind the frontline near Balaklava where they cared for the wounded.
- Can you describe this memorial?
- How has the artist shown Mary Seacole? [Clue: her position, her expression]
- Why do you think it has taken a long time to create a statue in her memory?
- Find out more about the role of Mary Seacole in the Crimea.