A Burnham-On-Sea war veteran has taken part in a ceremony to remember a WWI heroine this week.
Burnham’s Neville Jones laid flowers in memory of Edith Cavell, who helped hundreds of allied troops escape from behind enemy lines before she was executed for treason by the Germans 100 years ago.
Edith was indiscriminate about treating both German and Allied soldiers during her work as a nurse on the front line.
Neville – who met her father during his work many years ago – told Burnham-On-Sea.com: “As soon as I heard about this week’s special ceremony in London, I was keen to go along and lay my humble flowers alongside others to remember such a special person.”
“There is no doubt that she helped many hundreds of people escape form behind enemy lines and also filtered back useful information to help our side at the same time.”
Neville added: “I was warmly welcomed by her family at the ceremony and was even invited along to their reception afterwards where I recounted how I’d met Edith’s father many years ago.”
Edith is one of only three women to have a statute in London, with hers located outside St Martin in the Fields – and wreaths were laid there in her honour.
Her execution provoked outrage in Britain, and she became known as ‘our Joan of Arc’. Writing at the time, Arthur Conan Doyle, author of Sherlock Holmes, said: “Everybody must feel disgusted at the barbarous actions of the German soldiery in murdering this great and glorious specimen of womanhood.”
