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Mary Seacole

Mary Seacole was born in Kingston in Jamaica in 1805. Her mother was Jamaican and her father was a Scottish soldier. Her mother was a nurse. Mary liked to pretend she was a nurse with her dolls and pets. She could read and write. At the age of 12, Mary was helping her mother to nurse sick people.  Mary loved to watch boats and she really wanted to travel. Mary opened a hotel in Jamaica. She cared for ill soldiers and their families.  When she was young, Mary travelled a lot. This was unusual for a woman then.

The Crimean War began in 1854 and Mary wanted to help the wounded soldiers. She travelled to England, but no one accepted her offer to nurse ill soldiers.

Then she travelled to Crimea, paying her own way there. Whilst there, she visited Florence Nightingale's hospital. After that she opened her own British Hotel with a shop which was 2 miles from the fighting in Balaclava.  She sold soldiers things they needed such as tins of soup, saddles and boots. She cooked meals like Irish stew and rice pudding for the soldiers. Yumm!  Mary also helped on the battlefield. At the end of the war she was left with many unsold things in her shop.

When she returned to Britain Mary had no money, but her friends helped her. Many soldiers and British people liked Mary because she helped so many people. Mary was given medals by Britain, Turkey and France for her bravery in the war.

She wrote a book about her life called “The wonderful adventures of Mrs Seacole”. It was a best-seller at that time. Mary died in 1881 aged 76. She is buried in London in England.

Before Mary’s marriage she travelled to places such as:

Cuba, Haiti, the Bahamas and Central America and Britain

When Mary went to turkey, as soon as she got there she visited Florence Nightingale’s hospital and briefly met her.

 

At the end of the war Mary had lots of expense supplies, and no money and no home but a lot of new friends. So her friends looked after her and helped her in her new home. Lots of solders praised her even though she didn’t get a reward from the military. 

The end of Marys life was spent living between Jamaica and London. Life was still hard for her but 2 things helped. She published a book which sold well and Queen Victoria set up a fund for veterans. Also Mary’s efforts in the war were finally recognised and the queen gave her 4 medals.

Mary Seacole did a lot in her life; she was brave and strong minded. She taught herself to be a nurse, she travelled the world with almost no money and she saved many many peoples lives. There were a lot of nurses around her time and she stood above them all.   She is an example of some one who has all the disadvantages in life (she was poor, black and a women) but through great effort and care for others became a hero of her day.