WW1 nurse Edith Cavell to feature on new £5 coin

From The BBC

5 July 2014

Edith Cavell, the British nurse executed by the Germans during World War One, is to be featured on a new commemorative £5 coin. The coin will form part of a set to be issued next year by the Royal Mint marking the centenary of the war. Cavell worked as a nurse in German-occupied Belgium, helping save the lives of soldiers from both sides. She was shot by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers to escape across the border into the Netherlands. Treasury minister Nicky Morgan said: "She showed true bravery by helping injured soldiers, regardless of their nationality, and it is right that she should be honoured as a British hero. She risked her life to help Allied forces escape and in doing so paid the ultimate price. It is important that we remember the sacrifices made by so many people in different ways during the war."

In May relatives of Cavell, a vicar's daughter from Swardeston, near Norwich, delivered a petition bearing 110,000 signatures to the Treasury, calling for her to be honoured on a new £2 coin. The campaign was launched after it was announced former war secretary Lord Kitchener would feature on a coin. Campaigners said the coins should also celebrate those who advocated peace. It followed last year's successful petition to put author Jane Austen on the back of £10 notes after a public outcry that every banknote featured a man. Last week Chancellor George Osborne agreed to consider adding Cavell to a list of designs for the new £2 coin. A £2 coin depicting Lord Kitchener has already been unveiled by the Royal Mint.

[Coincidently I watched part of a documentary on Edith Cavell last night which is part of the reason why this story caught my eye. Another reason is that my Dad mentioned her more than once. I knew a bit about the story beforehand but I think I’m going to have to follow up this WW1 story with a bit more research….]