240:, a hospital being run by Florence Nightingale. Cadwaladr worked there for some months, but there were frequent clashes between the two; they came from very different social backgrounds and were a generation apart in age (31 years). Nightingale was a stickler for rules and bureaucracy, some of which she set up; indeed, she was also famed as a statistician. Cadwaladr often side-stepped regulations to react more intuitively to the ever-changing needs of the injured soldiers. Whilst Nightingale subsequently acknowledged Cadwaladr's work and the progress that she made against the unhygienic conditions, the two fell out to such a degree that Cadwaladr, by now aged over 65, moved by choice from the hospital, nearer to the frontline at
360:- Wales (NFWI-Wales) organised 3 events, one each in Cardiff, Llangollen and Carmarthen. Contributors at each event were asked to select a woman who had been inspirational and to speak about her. Professor Donna Mead, who spoke in Carmarthen selected Betsi Cadwaladr. Following the event, The NFWI-Wales produced a booklet containing the presentations from across Wales. It transpired that Betsi Cadwaladr had also been selected by Gretta Cartwright who spoke in Llangollen, so Betsi had two entries in that publication.
253:
712:
200:, and visited the battlefield where she was moved by the plight of the injured. In 1820, aged 31, she again returned to Bala, which she now considered 'dull', so she became a maid to a ship's captain and said she travelled for years, visiting such places as South America, Africa and Australia. At times she performed
244:. Here, apart from her nursing work and her supervision of the camp kitchens, she again gained notoriety for her fight with bureaucracy to ensure that necessary supplies got through. Nightingale visited Balaclava twice and, on seeing the changes brought about by Cadwaladr's methods, gave her the credit she was due.
165:, one of 16 children to Methodist preacher Dafydd Cadwaladr and his wife Judith. She grew up on Pen Rhiw Farm, Llanycil. Her mother died and was buried on 10 February 1800 when Betsi was ten years old. In her interviews with Jane Williams, Betsi said she was given a copy of the Bible as a present from
192:
At some point in her life she changed her surname to Davis because it was easy to pronounce outside Wales. She later returned to Wales, but subsequently fled to London to avoid marriage, living with her sister. Here in London she first encountered the theatre, which became a great interest to her.
215:
At this time she was not trained in nursing, but during the course of her time on board ship she became involved in the care of the sick, and she also delivered babies. Despite her stubbornness and independence, Cadwaladr herself claimed that in the course of her travels she was proposed to by over
228:
for ‘perhaps a year’ around 1850 Then at the age of 65 she was one of many women who applied to go to the Crimea to nurse the injured. Her sister
Bridget tried to dissuade her. Florence Nightingale did not want the Welsh working-class Cadwaladr to go, saying that if Betsi went to the Crimea, it
348:
survey of the 50 greatest Welsh people of all time rated Betsi
Cadwaladr at 38; this was rated higher than notable individuals such as the singer Tom Jones (39), the actor Anthony Hopkins (46), the songwriter Ivor Novello (44) and sportsmen such as Ryan Giggs (50) and John Charles (48).
268:
when she returned to
Britain in 1855, a year before the war ended. She lived in London, again at her sister's house, during which time she wrote her autobiography. She died in 1860, five years after her return, and was buried in the pauper's section of
297:
were mentioned. It was asserted that it was time that Wales acknowledged its own nursing heroine and Mead, supported by the Royal
College of Nursing in Wales, became the leading advocate for celebrating Betsi Cadwaladr’s considerable achievements.
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229:
would be against her will, and that Betsi would have to be made over to another superintendent. Betsi responded, "Do you think I am a dog or an animal to make me over? I have a will of my own."
185:. Cadwaladr was not happy there, though, and aged 14 she claimed to have escaped through a bedroom window using tied sheets, and left Bala. She then obtained employment as a domestic servant in
115:(24 May 1789 – 17 July 1860), also known as Beti Cadwaladr Betsi Davis, and Elizabeth Davis was a Welsh nurse. She began nursing on travelling ships in her 30s (1820s) and later nursed in the
625:"The Incredible Adventures of Betsi Cadwaladr: 'Welsh Florence Nightingale' or 'Munchausen in Petticoats'? An evaluation of The Autobiography of Elizabeth Davis as a historical source"
744:
698:
NFWI-Wales (2011) A Celebration of Women's
Achievements over the last 100 years and beyond: Inspirational Stories of Women from across the World. NFWI-Wales Cardiff
289:, Donna M Mead addressed the Royal College of Nursing in Wales. The topic was ‘Nursing, Now and Then’. Inevitably, the accomplishments of nursing pioneers such as
181:
According to Jane
Williams biography, Cadwaladr got employment locally as a maid at Plas yn Dre, where she learned housework, to speak English, and to play the
196:
Working as a maid and assistant, Cadwaladr claimed she had the opportunity to travel widely around the world. She said she was in France at the time of the
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Since 2005 there have been many developments, including the RCN Wales biennial Betsi
Cadwaladr Lecture which has been presented by:
145:, published in 1857. This was based on a series of interviews with the author Jane Williams towards the end of Cadwaladr's life.
212:, the hymn-writer. More recently Gruffydd Jones has found little evidence to support all of Cadwaladr's claims about her travels.
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138:), the largest health organisation in Wales. In 2016, she was named as one of "the 50 greatest Welsh men and women of all time"
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Radio Cymru, a conversation with Lyn
Ebenezer, published in the Cwrs Uwch, Bangor University, 2003
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Conditions in the Crimea eventually took their toll on
Cadwaladr's health, as she was ill with
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Betsy
Cadwaladyr : a Balaclava Nurse : an autobiography of Elizabeth Davis
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in north London. A new memorial stone was placed on her grave in August 2012.
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577:"Wales, Merionethshire, Parish Registers, 1538–1912", index, FamilySearch (
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clergyman), which she later reflected shaped her purpose to her life.
754:
237:
457:"Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board - Who Was Betsi Cadwaladr?"
162:
726:
581: : accessed 28 February 2015), Elizabeth Cadwaladr, 1789.
340:, former Assembly member and Presiding Officer, Welsh Assembly
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2012 Christine Mary Evans, retired consultant urologist
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2005, as requested by the then RCN Welsh Board Chair,
597:"Health: Get the latest health and medical news from"
974:
761:
232:Cadwaladr was subsequently posted to a hospital in
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94:
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78:
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39:
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505:"The 50 Greatest Welsh Men and Women of All Time"
141:One of the few sources for her life is the book '
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153:Elizabeth 'Betsi' Cadwaladr was born in 1789 at
393:. 1: 405–12. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(71)92410-x.
579:https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KCG2-WBD
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8:
316:who in the 1970s wrote the inverse care law.
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731:
723:
561:"Memorial plans to honour Betsi Cadwaladr"
455:Board, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health.
20:
632:The Open University, Open Research Online
389:Hart, JT (1971). "The Inverse Care Law".
333:, NHS writer, broadcaster and commentator
982:History of Nursing in the United Kingdom
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490:
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486:
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402:
309:AM, who delivered the inaugural lecture
224:On returning to Britain, she worked at
128:Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board
204:on board ship, and met such people as
136:Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Betsi Cadwaladr
126:Her name today is synonymous with the
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256:Headstone placed on her grave in 2012
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559:Live, North Wales (24 April 2011).
435:"'Other' Crimea War nurse honoured"
374:Betsy Cadwaladyr: A Balaclava Nurse
356:in 2011 the National Federation of
675:"Nursing Lives in the Crimean War"
14:
1030:British people of the Crimean War
994:Royal British Nurses' Association
277:Royal College of Nursing in Wales
143:Autobiography of Elizabeth Davis'
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370:Autobiography of Elizabeth Davis
352:To commemorate the centenary of
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988:The British Journal of Nursing
415:by Alun Roberts, Y Lolfa, 2002
1:
673:Mawby, Darcie (7 May 2020).
655:Discover Gwynedd – List Page
533:. Dinas Powys : Honno.
507:. Wales Online. 6 June 2016.
934:Jane Catherine Shaw Stewart
1061:
1040:Women of the Victorian era
57:Llanycil, near Bala, Wales
954:Sarah Elizabeth Wardroper
354:International Women's Day
30:
919:Margaret Elwyn Sparshott
679:University of Nottingham
623:Jones, Gruffydd (2019).
529:Williams, Jane (2007).
372:, 1857. Republished as
323:MP, now Assembly Member
257:
208:, the missionary, and
135:
1035:Female wartime nurses
884:Muriel Powell (nurse)
869:Helen Campbell Norman
413:Welsh National Heroes
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171:Calvinistic Methodist
1025:People from Llanycil
904:Edith MacGregor Rome
864:Florence Nightingale
809:Ethel Gordon Fenwick
719:at Wikimedia Commons
660:19 July 2012 at the
338:Dame Rosemary Butler
291:Florence Nightingale
121:Florence Nightingale
914:Helen Gregory Smith
804:Jane Cecilia Deeble
271:Abney Park Cemetery
220:Her work as a nurse
44:Elizabeth Cadwaladr
939:Alicia Lloyd Still
799:Joanna Cruickshank
794:Rachael Cox-Davies
358:Women's Institutes
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198:Battle of Waterloo
1002:
1001:
894:Gertrude Richards
879:Rosabelle Osborne
819:Annie Warren Gill
715:Media related to
314:Julian Tudor Hart
287:Eirlys Warrington
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103:Years active
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789:Edith Cavell
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682:. Retrieved
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68:(1860-07-17)
66:17 July 1860
18:
1020:1860 deaths
1015:1789 births
949:Sarah Swift
684:2 September
637:2 September
283:Nurses' Day
202:Shakespeare
183:triple harp
117:Crimean War
87:Citizenship
79:Nationality
54:24 May 1789
16:Welsh nurse
1009:Categories
874:Sarah Oram
839:Eva Luckes
834:Kate Luard
565:northwales
398:References
344:In 2014 a
331:Roy Lilley
149:Background
119:alongside
95:Occupation
50:1789-05-24
471:11 August
307:Sue Essex
266:dysentery
242:Balaclava
187:Liverpool
169:(a Welsh
658:Archived
439:BBC News
379:, 2015.
216:20 men.
155:Llanycil
975:Related
755:matrons
262:cholera
234:Scutari
157:, near
90:British
762:People
603:20 May
537:
391:Lancet
383:
312:2008
238:Turkey
73:London
628:(PDF)
377:Honno
364:Works
336:2017
329:2014
319:2010
305:2006
248:Death
163:Wales
132:Welsh
98:Nurse
82:Welsh
686:2024
639:2024
605:2013
535:ISBN
473:2017
381:ISBN
293:and
264:and
159:Bala
106:1855
63:Died
40:Born
281:On
189:.
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