"The Lady of the Lamp” has become a great and picturesque figure in our national history, but there are few who realize the debt which the whole civilized world owes to Florence Nightingale. Nursing was in the hands of such terrible creatures as Dickens's “Sairy Gamp," when this gentle daughter of a country squire sacrificed her social life to become a pioneer in clean and devoted attention to the sick.

The year 1850 saw an outcry of a young woman—a outcry against the futility and fatuity of the social life which surrounded and imprisoned her. “In my thirty-first year," she wrote in her diary, "I see nothing desirable but death. Everything has been tried—foreign travel, kind friends— everything. My God! What is to become of me?"

This was Florence Nightingale, "....whom no one person in history has done more to alleviate the sufferings of the sick and to establish a system which, by its adaptation, created and has maintained at so high a standing the honourable profession of nursing..."

Florence had all the good things of life; she was well brought up and educated far beyond the stage of most young women of that time, but yet she was obsessed with an urge to devote her existence to the service of mankind, which she understood to be  the one and complete way of serving God. Within five years of her  revolt, the woman's name become famous throughout the civilised societies, much beloved, and cherished by both rich and poor.

At this time nurses came from what was the undesirable parts of the community and hardly any training facilities were around, the pay was lower than that of a common labourer. This was the time before antiseptics and aids for hospital work was unknown. Nurses were no more than skivvies, most of them with no education at all and were noted fro the immorality. But Florence Nightingale set her heart on becoming a a nurse, as she saw the field which which some could give the greatest service to humanity. She also felt that the world needed a reformer who would be prepared to work at all costs.

There were many prejudices that were in front of this young woman and the strongest and hardest to fight was that of "class prejudice".

Miss Nightingale was born at Florence in Italy on 12 May 1820 and she got her name from the fact that her parents called their children the name of their birthplace, at this time though Florence was considered to be a man's name.

Her parents were not only wealthy but well connected with leaders in both the social and political scene, and they did not think that their daughter should come into contact with the terrible conditions that were then prevalent in hospital life, and they used every method they could think of to dissuade her. She was sent to accompany a Mr. and Mrs. Bracebridge, who were family friends, and they took her to Rome to try and forget her ambition. Florence left the Bracebridges for ten days in the Convent of the Sacred Heart, where she studied the organisation and where a Protestant Minister, Flieder, ran a training school for nurses.

During this time Florence met a man that would have a great influence on her chosen career, Sidney Herbert, who was the son of the Earl of Pembroke. Herbert and his wife were neighbours of the Nightingale family in Wiltshire and Florence was attracted to this former cabinet minister, who was 38 years old to her 28 years. Florence was tall and slender and very elegant and her hair a rich brown that framed her delicate complexion, her smile was said to be the sweetest and most winning ." Her personal charm her culture, her attractive appearance, and the deep sincerity of all her actions, naturally brought many friendships—close and lasting friendships—but with all the opportunities Florence Nightingale had of marrying, and finding in the administration of a home an employment that would take her mind off her main obsession, she regarded with contempt any idea that there could be no attachment between man and woman without the thought of sex intruding. The friendship that was formed with Sidney Herbert, afterwards Lord Herbert of Lea, was cemented by the humanitarian impulses common to both,"  and it was this friendship that mostly affected her purpose in nursing.

Florence again went travelling and in 1849 while in Paris she met two sisters of the  Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and they introduced her to their order in Alexandria. Florence travelled across Europe to Alexandria to visit the society's schools and hospitals and here she learnt the importance of discipline in hospital management.

When she returned she visited Fliedner's Institute of Protestant Deaconesses and she returned here later for a four month period of training.

After her travels she returned home and resolved to fulfil the course her life must take. All around her, she found that the sterile vacuity of her life was denied access to that service for God and mankind due to social prejudices. And she cried out "Oh, God! What is to become of me? How can I get away from all this? Let me do something!"

Through the intervention of Sidney Herbert, Florence's family came to terms with her ambition and accompanied by her sister she returned to visit the various places where she had gained learning while on holiday. She enrolled herself at Fliener's pioneer institute, which was the fist modern establishment for hospital training, at Kaiserwerth on the River Rhine and it was here that she lived a Spartan life and undertook the strict training of a deaconess. This was a life of hardship and self denial, but, " it was an experience glorified by the consciousness that at last she was gathering in knowledge the strength necessary for the noble task to which she had dedicated her life."

When she came back to England, Florence spent a lot of time learning about the conditions and necessities of nursing at hospitals in London and Edinburgh and in 1853 she returned to Paris to study the details of nursing organisations in France.

It was in August 1853, that Florence Nightingale was given the chance of both managing and directing such an institution that she thought would be needed in England. This was the Establishment for Gentlewomen During Illness, and was a nursing home for ladies that had restricted means and had been set up in Chandos Street in London. The way she conducted the work was so successful that a much larger place was needed, and this was found at No. 1 Harley Street, where she had her first chance of proving her own theories. Her first principle was cleanliness and the need for fresh air, and much to the annoyance of the people that held sway, she  began by ordering that windows should be opened. And with this and other reforms she started to build up the modern system of today's hospitals.

Soon her fame began to spread, though her thoroughness and hygienic value, and soon she assumed the position of Superintendent of Kings College Hospital where she saw her longed for opportunity when a national calamity occurred which caused the taking of the first step to reaching the ideal. This was the break out of the Crimean War in 1854.

A reporter for The Times denounced the shameful lack of care for the wounded after the heroic Battle of the Alma and declared "there were not sufficient surgeons; no dressers and nurses; no linen for bandages—and yet, no one was to blame."  This caused a lot of consternation throughout England.

At this time Sidney Herbert was again Secretary for War and wrote to Florence informing her that there was nobody to supervise "the whole thing" in organizing the care of the wounded soldiers. So he asked her if she would go and with a few days she was ready. A letter came from the War Office which officially appointed her as Superintendent of the Female Nursing Establishment in the English General Hospitals in Turkey. And two days later on October 21 1854 she set out for Scutari, with a group of volunteer nurses whom she had assembled.

This appointment made her a celebrity as here was a gentlewoman who was not only young and attractive but rich who was ready to abandon a life of comfort to go out and face the horrors of war. The Commander of the Forces, the Purveyor-General and the Chief Medical Officer provided funds, and donations were soon pouring in to help her. She and Herbert managed to recruit 38 nurses, which composed of ten Roman Catholic sisters, eight Anglicans, and six nurses from the St John's House, alongside of fourteen others from various other hospitals.

Florence was denounced for the composition of her relief party because of sectarianism and it was only when Queen Victoria gave her personal benediction to the leader that the accusations against her stopped. But high officials still argued about the fact that a woman was being put in charge of what was a man' job. But Florence was encourage by the Queen's message and ignored her critics.

It was on 4th November that Florence Nightingale arrive in Scutari, and was immediately confronted with the wounded from the Battle of Balaclava. Florence and her staff had to cope with the huge task of nursing them and a few days later over 600 wounded were brought in from Inkerman.

At this time a commission was appointed to investigate the accusations that appeared in The Times and this led Herbert to send a friend to the seat of war, but all the time this was going on Florence continued in her work. The commission advised on the appointing of an individual with plenary powers to correct the wrongs immediately and on the spot. Florence had already taken those powers and men were saved from the very ills which the inquiry was concerned about. The Times set up a fund and with private benevolence Florence was helped with funding, and to this she added her own money.

The first things that were needed were sacking and scrubbers for cleaning the floors and if she asked for them via the purveyor general this would have taken many weeks, so she approached The Times fund. The ambassador told the officer of the fund that only enough money was needed to build a new church at Pera.

Florence took a house in Scutari when the contractors for the laundry worked failed to carry out their contract, and turned it into a laundry, Twenty thousand shirts had been landed and were awaiting the outcome of the report of the Board of Survey before being allocated to the bedraggled sufferers. But Florence 'demanded' that the bales were to be opened immediately and the materials taken to the hospital.

This type of conduct naturally annoyed the staff and one of them recorded: "Is this the way to manage the finances of a great nation? Miss Nightingale coolly draws a cheque. A divine afflatus! Priestess Miss Nightingale! Magnetic impetus drawing cash out of my pocket!"

Florence had fondly become known as The Lady-in-Chief among both the wounded soldiers and her own staff and she carried on with the work of cleaning up the mess that she had found. Those that did not readily submit to her form of discipline were immediately sent back to England and were soon replaced b y others who had been trained in the courses she had recommended.

Before Florence 'tookover' the mortality rate in hospitals was around 42% but rapidly fell to around 2%, most of this was attributed to the work of the sanitary commission of engineers and medical men that had been appointed to enforce her own ideas. She overcame officialdom which dogged her footsteps and she had the knack of finding out the cause of an evil and suppressing it immediately.

Florence kept in touch with her friends in England and wrote many letters which described the conditions in the hospital not only before she had arrived but also afterwards. “In a time of such calamity ... I have little compassion left even for the wretched purveyor-general, swamped amid demands he never expected. But I have no compassion for men who would rather see hundreds of lives lost than waive one scruple of the official con-science."

She laid out detailed plans for the running of the hospital staff, including the purchasing departments, housekeeping, furniture, and clothing and also supervised a daily routine, these plans are still in use today but have much improved.

There were times when she found that officialdom got in the way of these plans but not to be outdone she became cook, housekeeper, scavenger, storekeeper and washerwoman herself.

“It was her custom, late at night, or in the early hours of the morning, when her administrative and clerical labours were done, and before retiring to such rest as she allowed herself, to make a last tour of the wards; a tall, slender figure in black merino, her rich brown hair covered by a white cap, she would pass, camp-lamp in hand, down those long aisles, between the rows of beds, bestowing comfort in isolated cases."

This carrying of the lamp let to her being named  "The Lady of the Lamp" and this name became immortalised.

She not only took an interest in the work of the British soldier but she also started catering for the "other side" of their lives, providing games, books and bringing amusements and cafes to help their convalescence. And this has been carried out in military hospitals ever since.

She would often be seen at the front line and she realised that hot food and other amenities were just as essential to the efficiency of the soldier, as was the strict training and discipline that was forced upon them. She made three visits to the war zone and each time she brought in some new reforms.

But she herself was smitten with the same fever which both her staff and herself had nursed the soldiers through, it was a severe attack and for a while her life hung in the balance. But Florence recovered but lost her beautiful hair and her health was so impaired that she was never again the same woman. When she recovered the whole nation gave public thanksgiving and Victoria wrote:

 "It will be a great satisfaction to me, when you return at last to these shores, to make the acquaintance of one who has set so bright an example to our sex. And with every prayer for the preservation of your valuable health believe, always, yours sincerely, Victoria R."

But despite the illness and her weakness afterwards Florence refused to give up and carried on her duty until the British evacuated Turkey in July 1856. She made up her mind to return to England and to the acclaim of the whole nation, but she avoided the public receptions that had been arranged for her, though in September she was received by Queen Victoria at Balmoral.

The work she had done in the Crimea was only the beginning and soon she took action in the hospitals of England and became the founder of the modern nursing system in the country.

Over £50,000 was raised by public subscription for her services in the Crimea and with this she set up the  Nightingale Home for Training Nurses at St. Thomas's Hospital. She was also still interested in the work of the Army Medical Corps and the hospital arrangements for soldiers.

In 1858 she published a report entitled Notes on Matters affecting the Health, Efficiency, and Hospital Administration of the British Army,  and this was the start of the work of the Royal commission that was appointed to look into the health of the British army.

Florence wanted to visit India during the Mutiny but was not asked but she did take a great interest in the sanitary and health measures that were adopted there and was kept up to date by the Secretary of State for India and other high officials involved in these matters.

Sadly her days of personal activity were now over but she lived to see hospital reforms and the starting of nursing as an honourable profession, in both England and other parts of the world.

In 1907 Florence became the first woman to be awarded the Order of Merit and the following year she was granted the Freedom of the City of London, by this time she was nearly 90 years of age and her memory and eyesight were fast failing her. Before her death on 13th August 1910 Florence had the satisfaction of knowing that her work had been accomplished and the answer to her question "What is to become of me?" may be found in the words of Lord Stanley.

He wrote an eulogy of the Lady of the Lamp and said " I know no person besides Miss Nightingale who, within the past hundred years within this island, or perhaps in Europe, has voluntarily encountered dangers so imminent, and undertaken offices so repulsive, working for a large and worthy object, in a pure spirit of duty towards God and compassion for man."

Florence Nightingale is buried in the churchyard  St Margaret of Antioch, East Wellow, Hampshire. In the churchyard is her grave the obelisk inscribed with the initials F.N. Mementoes of her long life are in the church; she died in London in 1910 at the age of 90, but her family home had been Embley Park in the parish of Wellow.