When
it comes to the history of nurses, everybody knows about Florence
Nightingale and the Crimean War.
But
how about Janet Wells (later King)? Before she was twenty years old, she had
not only served as a Superintendent of a hospital at Newcastle, she
had experienced two dangerous nursing adventures in the Balkans and
in South Africa where she was the only British nurse to serve at the
front during the Anglo-Zulu War, its most famous battle of Rorke’sDrift immortalised in film and in legend.
During
her lifetime, Janet was as revered as Florence and
the second nurse to receive the Royal Red Cross, yet her star faded
until recently when her scrapbook was rediscovered by her great-granddaughter who brought it to the
attention of an Anglo-Zulu historical group. With the publication
in 2006 of this book about her by Brian Best and Katie Stossel finally her
story had the potential to reach a wider audience.
Not
many eighteen year olds – then or since – and raised in a
genteel world of music and middle-class comfort would have the
maturity to handle death, atrocities, disease and starvation on
two contrasting battlefronts with such determination and confidence. In
this biography, Janet comes across as a warm, calm and self-reliant young woman who would have been a credit in any field of endeavour.
The book also describes in detail the
little-remembered Russo-Turkish War with its ghastly casualty rate
and callous treatment of men, and also the fact that Sister Janet did
not take sides and that she treated all her patients equally, including Zulus and even the imprisoned Chief Cetshwayo himself. There is also enlightening discussion on the early days of the Red
Cross and how politics, personalities and competition affected the
various nursing bodies.
Although
she did not actively nurse after she was married, like her more
famous contemporary Florence, Janet always campaigned for
military authorities to give more attention to medical supplies and
support although it would take many more years before these matters
were seriously attended to.
The
book’s illustrations include scenes from her life, including poignant naïve
sketches by a soldier admirer of hers, flowers and mementos that she
collected from the battlefields, and beads given to her by Cetshwayo.
Certainly
an inspiring woman who deserves to be much better known.
