(1820 – 1910)
Waterloo Place, St James’s, London SW1Y
and Glasgow Royal Infirmary
Social Reformer, Statistician and Founder of Modern Medicine
This is the first but certainly not the last tribute to Florence Nightingale. According to my records (so in no way accountable) Florence is the most prolific non – royal woman immortalised in a statue with 5 to her name – way to go Flo! In London she stands at Waterloo Place – a short walk from the Stafford Hotel (see Nancy Wake) but up so high I’m struggling to take a decent shot. Created by Arthur George Walker, it shows her as ‘the Lady with the Lamp’, a nickname she earned on her nightly inspection rounds in the hospitals of the Crimean War. It was unveiled in the midst of the First World War in 1915, with little fanfare, as was appropriate given for the time.
Much more up close and personal, although somewhat hidden in the labyrinth of the hospital, is a marble statue of the lady herself, taking some downtime in reading a book. I captured her with the bronze relic as this is dedicated to Rebecca Strong (1843-1944), a student of Florence and former Matron of the Infirmary. According to AI (and who could argue otherwise) Florence’s statue was donated by Rebecca herself.
WomenstatuesUK 