Publish date: 4 October 2021
As part of the Trust's celebration of Black History Month, every week we will take a look at some of the most significant people in British and NHS history. We begin with perhaps one of the most recognisable names...
Mary Seacole was the first example of someone from overseas who made an overwhelming difference to health care in the UK.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1805 where her mother, a free black woman, worked as a ‘doctress’ and awakened her interest in nursing, Mary made her own way in life after the death of her husband Edward Horatio Seacole, a godson of Lord Nelson.
In 1854 she heard about the Crimean War raging in Europe and set off for England. She offered her services to the nursing agencies recruiting for the war effort but no-one would take her on. Even Florence Nightingale refused her an interview. Mary had encountered racial prejudice during earlier travels in America but had never expected to find it in London.
Finally, she made her own way to the front and quickly set up her ’British Hotel’ for the troops. Here, Mary provided hot meals and other basic home comforts as well as looking after the sick and wounded. Since she also ventured into the battle zone, news of her daring exploits soon reached England. Mary was hailed as a national heroine and received a commendation from Queen Victoria. Because Mary had invested a lot of her own money in the hotel, she was left bankrupt when the war suddenly ended in 1856. However, a group of eminent statesmen, along with many of the soldiers she had cared for, contributed to a fund which quickly paid off her debts.
Within the NHS today, Mary Seacole’s name lives on in the Mary Seacole Research Centre, a collaborative initiative between De Montfort University and The Royal College of Nursing. There is also the Mary Seacole Award made annually to a nurse, midwife or health visitor from black and minority ethnic communities, which enables them to undertake a particular area of work or study which will provide a health gain for their community.
