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A CALL TO HELPI was born Mary Jane Grant, in Kingston, Jamaica. My father was a Scottish soldier stationed on the island, and my mother was a Jamaican doctress who knew a great deal about traditional herbal remedies. Most Jamaicans at this time were enslaved to British masters. My mother was a freewoman, which meant I was also born free, but I still faced racism all through my life. I had to learn how to overcome how this made me feel. My mother ran a boarding house where my mother often treated soldiers with yellow fever. By the age of 12, I was helping. I also learned a lot from the army doctors who stayed there – and I saw the difference that one person can make. A few years later, Edwin Horatio Hamilton Seacole, a white British merchant and the godson of Admiral Horatio Nelson, came to the boarding house. Edwin and I fell in love and were married in 1836. Unfortunately, Edwin suffered from poor health, and although I tried to keep him healthy, he died in 1844. Soon after, my mother also died. WARTIME NURSEIn 1850, I went to Panama, where my brother ran a store and a hotel. I was able to practise my medical skills, as there were many people suffering from tropical diseases and cholera. While in Panama I heard about Britain’s involvement in a faraway conflict – the Crimean War. There was a need for nurses to help wounded soldiers. Florence Nightingale was already there, and I wanted to join her. But my application was rejected due to the colour of my skin.

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War scene, Valentin Ramirez, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

However, I held no ill will and decided that I wasn’t going to let the British government stop me. Together with my friend Thomas Day, we raised money to pay our own way to the Crimea. As well as treating soldiers at our hospital, I also rode on horseback to the battlefield, taking sandwiches, drinks, bandages and medicines with me. It was a dangerous thing to do, but it was often the only way to make sure that soldiers were getting the care they needed. We not only treated British soldiers - we also treated French and Sardinian soldiers, who were on our side, and Russian soldiers, who were the enemy. Many of the British soldiers wrote about me in their letters back home, calling me ‘Aunty’ or ‘Mother Seacole’. After the war ended in 1856, Florence Nightingale and her nurses were declared heroes, but I was not included in this praise.

Doctress – a woman in some cultures who is believed to have magic powers and to be able to cure illness.Yellow fever – a disease transmitted by infected mosquitoes.Cholera – a stomach infection caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with certain bacteria.Crimean War – a military conflict in which Russia lost to an alliance made up of France, the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom and Sardinia.

Legacy and Recognition

·&nbsp; &nbsp;As a British-Jamaican nurse in the 1800s, Mary Seacole’s leadership and courage paved the&nbsp;way for diversity in nursing in the UK,&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;after she cared for wounded British soldiers during the&nbsp;Crimean War.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her efforts did not go unnoticed by those who she helped, and they returned the favour by fundraising for her when she&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; experienced financial difficulties.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Named ‘greatest black Briton’ in a survey in 2004, to celebrate the UK’s black heritage, Mary Seacole stood against prejudices&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; and discrimination against all the odds.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Despite being almost forgotten by history, The Mary Seacole Memorial Association was established in 2004. It&nbsp;commemorates&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; her life and legacy of&nbsp; compassion, bravery, entrepreneurialism, and sheer determination, and the Association holds a special&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; memorial service every year.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;A statue of Mary Seacole is sited at St Thomas’ Hospital in London. It was unveiled in 2016. It is the first statue of a named black&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; woman in the UK, and it took nearly 12 years to raise&nbsp;&nbsp;the&nbsp;funds for the statue.·&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The Mary Seacole Trust promotes Mary Seacole as a source of inspiration for a fair, diverse, and inclusive society.

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