Although born in Swardeston, Norfolk, Edith Cavell’s story has strong roots in Peterborough. As a young woman she attended Laurel Court School, set within the precincts of Peterborough Cathedral, where she was taught music, drawing, English literature, and modern languages including French and German. Her time in the city gave her not only an excellent education but also the language skills and cultural grounding that would later prove invaluable during her nursing career in Brussels.
It is easy to imagine her walking through the cathedral close, singing in the great nave, and exploring the streets of Victorian Peterborough — unaware of the extraordinary role she would one day play in history. Those formative years fostered the discipline, empathy, and resolve that became the hallmarks of her life’s work.
During the First World War, Cavell helped more than 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium. For this she was arrested, tried, and executed by firing squad in 1915, an act that shocked the world. Her final words, “Patriotism is not enough; I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone,” continue to inspire as a call to compassion over vengeance.
Today, Peterborough remembers her not only through memorials in the cathedral but also in community projects and public artworks that keep her story alive. From the classrooms where she learned to the quiet cloisters she once walked, the city remains a place where Edith Cavell’s courage and humanity are honoured.