War Memorial #1384 ~ Patriotism Is Not Enough Multi-cache

This cache is dedicated to Edith Louisa Cavell (4 December 1865 – 12 October 1915) a nurse, humanitarian and spy. She is celebrated for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium during World War I for which she was executed.

Edith Cavell was born in Swardeston where her father, the Reverend Frederick Cavell was priest for many years. Edith had a great respect and love of nature and spent much of her early life wandering the parish, drawing and painting.

After a period as a governess, in 1895 she nursed her father through a brief illness and this seems to be what set her mind to training as a nurse. She trained as a nurse at the Royal London Hospital and worked in hospitals in Kent, London and Manchester, before setting off to Brussels in 1906.

In 1907 in her early forties she was put in charge of a pioneer training school by the name of L'École Belge d’Infirmières Diplômées. In the autumn of 1914, after the German occupation of Brussels, her training school nursed soldiers of both sides, but she also saw it as her humanitarian duty to help hunted British soldiers escape back to England. In the following months, an underground organisation developed, allowing her to guide some 200 Allied soldiers to safety.

German authorities became increasingly suspicious of her actions and she was eventually caught and shot by the Germans on the morning of October the 12th, 1915. Edith was magnanimous in her death, forgiving her executioners, even willing to admit the justice of their sentence.

Her last words would have been familiar to any English person in the first half of the 20th century: "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."

After the war, her body was taken back to Britain for a memorial service at Westminster Abbey and transferred to Norwich Cathedral in a spot called Life's Green where services are held annually on the Saturday nearest the anniversary of her death.

The above coordinates are for the entrance to St Mary’s, Swardeston, where there is a limited amount of parking.

All the information can be found at St Mary’s church. There is no need to enter the church building but in the north west corner hangs a portrait of Edith Cavell with other interesting information.

The final cache coordinates are 52 AB.CDE North 001 FG.HIJ East

• Louisa Cavell’s age when the lych gate was installed minus how long the lych gate was in place before she died = AB
• Add the digits of the year the lych gate was installed to the digits of the year Fredrick Cavell died = CE
• Fredrick Cavell’s year of birth =FDHG
• Add the digits of Louisa Cavell’s year of birth = JI

If you wish to get to St Mary’s Church from Norwich by public transport, take the number 10 bus to Mulbarton and get off in Swardeston just after the bakery. Ask for the Wood Lane stop. The church road is almost directly opposite the bus stop.

To get to the cache you will need to walk along the driveway to the left of the war memorial but this is a public footpath. The cache is accessible with a pushchair but the tracks can become very muddy after rain.

You will need to bring a pen to sign the log. Please leave the cache well covered.

Please respect the church premises and the properties along the footpath.

For more information about St Mary’s Church click here to visit Simon Knott’s excellent Norfok Churches site.