Another excellent, insightful article. It is certainly time for Sheffield to reclaim Florence Nightingale as ours. The Shore family also lived at Meersbrook and Norton Halls. Florence spent much time at Tapton Grove caring for her grandmother, and it may well have been then that she developed her ideas about nursing. The importance to her of her ties to Sheffield is shown by her sponsorship of the Crimean Monument - she sent £20, consisting of £5 each from herself and three relatives - and she declined the offer to lay its foundation stone only because she did not wish to be seen to court celebrity. The monument itself has been ill-fated. It is the first known to have been the initiative of working men, and the project began well, the Duke of Cambridge laying the foundation stone at Moorhead in 1857 (hence Cambridge Street, formerly Coalpit Lane). It ran into financial difficulty and a somewhat reduced scheme was delivered in 1863. In 1960 it was removed, the statue and plinth being re-erected in the Botanical Gardens, but then taken down again in 2004 on condition they were re-erected within two years - which was never done. They now moulder in a Council warehouse. The Crimean War was the first to be rapidly and pictorially reported, and the public revulsion at its horrors led to a new type of monument marking the sacrifice of ordinary servicemen, not glorifying their leaders. Sheffield MP J. A. Roebuck was instrumental in bringing down the government, his 1879 obituary saying "the horror is not yet forgotten with which the people of England received information of the privations their army endured during the first winter they spent under the walls of Sebastopol". Thomas Roberts, secretary of the working men's committee, said that the monument was not to promote love of war, but to remember bravery. Of 500 Sheffielders who went to the Crimea 100 did not return. As the article shows, they mostly died of disease, not wounds. What better way to remember them, remind ourselves - as more horrors unfold told in the same region - that war is horrific and not glorious, and mark the genius of Florence Nightingale than finally to bring the monument back to the city centre where it belongs?
Thanks Robin. Until I read this I’ve always thought that the Crimean war memorial was just something that was best forgotten but now I realise it’s something more than that. We’ll hopefully do a piece about it soon — and will probably be in touch with you (and Ron!).
Really interesting. I do agree so much about the importance of statistics and how to present them and understand them. This article added to my existing knowledge of Florence Nightingale. Thank you.
Wow that is fascinating . I knew neither of Florence Nightingale’s Sheffield connection nor her championing and application of statistics. This piece should be more widely seen . Perhaps a Health journal would be interested ?
Great article - Flo was certainly a great moderniser. As a nurse, I have often found it perplexing that, in my experience, so few nurses have an interest is data. This, I feel, is a shame. Nonetheless, it would be great if Sheffield could celebrate the connection with Flo more robustly. In 2020 there were national plans to celebrate her birthday of May 1820. However, the pandemic stopped that. Perhaps we should still do something?
What an astounding woman. I was aware that Florence Nightingale had a Sheffield connection - a 'house' at my old school (Abbeydale Girls' Grammar) was named after her - but much of this excellent article was an eye-opener. Robin Hughes' comments are an important contribution, too. It's so sad that Sheffield's Crimean War monument is not on display. I just hope it is still in safe storage. The tall column which formed part of the original memorial (before it was moved to the Botanical Gardens) was broken up. I understand that bits of it have turned up from time to time in local parks and gardens (including Addy Street) but, shamefully, key parts of the structure seem to have been lost.
Another excellent, insightful article. It is certainly time for Sheffield to reclaim Florence Nightingale as ours. The Shore family also lived at Meersbrook and Norton Halls. Florence spent much time at Tapton Grove caring for her grandmother, and it may well have been then that she developed her ideas about nursing. The importance to her of her ties to Sheffield is shown by her sponsorship of the Crimean Monument - she sent £20, consisting of £5 each from herself and three relatives - and she declined the offer to lay its foundation stone only because she did not wish to be seen to court celebrity. The monument itself has been ill-fated. It is the first known to have been the initiative of working men, and the project began well, the Duke of Cambridge laying the foundation stone at Moorhead in 1857 (hence Cambridge Street, formerly Coalpit Lane). It ran into financial difficulty and a somewhat reduced scheme was delivered in 1863. In 1960 it was removed, the statue and plinth being re-erected in the Botanical Gardens, but then taken down again in 2004 on condition they were re-erected within two years - which was never done. They now moulder in a Council warehouse. The Crimean War was the first to be rapidly and pictorially reported, and the public revulsion at its horrors led to a new type of monument marking the sacrifice of ordinary servicemen, not glorifying their leaders. Sheffield MP J. A. Roebuck was instrumental in bringing down the government, his 1879 obituary saying "the horror is not yet forgotten with which the people of England received information of the privations their army endured during the first winter they spent under the walls of Sebastopol". Thomas Roberts, secretary of the working men's committee, said that the monument was not to promote love of war, but to remember bravery. Of 500 Sheffielders who went to the Crimea 100 did not return. As the article shows, they mostly died of disease, not wounds. What better way to remember them, remind ourselves - as more horrors unfold told in the same region - that war is horrific and not glorious, and mark the genius of Florence Nightingale than finally to bring the monument back to the city centre where it belongs?
Thanks Robin. Until I read this I’ve always thought that the Crimean war memorial was just something that was best forgotten but now I realise it’s something more than that. We’ll hopefully do a piece about it soon — and will probably be in touch with you (and Ron!).
Really interesting. I do agree so much about the importance of statistics and how to present them and understand them. This article added to my existing knowledge of Florence Nightingale. Thank you.
Excellent and interesting article . Thank you
Interesting and informative article. It's a paradox that nowadays people are leaving the NHS due to 'too much information':
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/07/28-years-leaving-nhs-patients-cost-cutting-bureaucracy
Fascinating thanks!
Fascinating article I never realised about the Sheffield connection.
Wow that is fascinating . I knew neither of Florence Nightingale’s Sheffield connection nor her championing and application of statistics. This piece should be more widely seen . Perhaps a Health journal would be interested ?
Thanks Pen 🙏 I’ll mention to the author he can let a public health journal republish it for free if he wants.
Fascinating! What a woman!
Really interesting. I never knew about her Sheffield connection.
Great article - Flo was certainly a great moderniser. As a nurse, I have often found it perplexing that, in my experience, so few nurses have an interest is data. This, I feel, is a shame. Nonetheless, it would be great if Sheffield could celebrate the connection with Flo more robustly. In 2020 there were national plans to celebrate her birthday of May 1820. However, the pandemic stopped that. Perhaps we should still do something?
Thank you for this enjoyable and informative article.
What an astounding woman. I was aware that Florence Nightingale had a Sheffield connection - a 'house' at my old school (Abbeydale Girls' Grammar) was named after her - but much of this excellent article was an eye-opener. Robin Hughes' comments are an important contribution, too. It's so sad that Sheffield's Crimean War monument is not on display. I just hope it is still in safe storage. The tall column which formed part of the original memorial (before it was moved to the Botanical Gardens) was broken up. I understand that bits of it have turned up from time to time in local parks and gardens (including Addy Street) but, shamefully, key parts of the structure seem to have been lost.
Brilliant article. So much I didn't know about Ms Nightingale! Thanks
Thanks Dan
Well done on the Tribune with its interesting , fair , illuminating journalism . I hope you go from strength to strength.
And thanks for replying on a Saturday night ! Are we a bit “sad“, I wonder? !
All the best
Pen