Brother and sister Edwin and Agnes, son and daughter of John Bowman Wilson, married into the Cavell family of Mornington – Edwin marrying Annabella Rosa Cavell, and Agnes marrying Annabella’s brother Alfred William Cavell – both weddings took place at Mornington. Two of our research colleague/cousins who derive from these unions are John Wilson (g-grandson of Edwin & Annabella) and Jenny Gould (granddaughter of Agnes & Alfred).
For many years John and Jennie have engaged in research of both their Wilson origins as well as those of their Cavells. In the case of their Cavells their families have always been fascinated with the legendary but (until recently) unproven link to the famous Nurse Edith Cavell who was executed by German forces in World War I. Edith is shown here.
Most recently Jenny has been very actively researching the Cavell family connection – Jenny has written an excellent summary of the relationships between these two families, and has uncovered the origins of the Cavell family in England. A copy of a paper prepared by Jenny – The Cavell Connection – is attached below.
Nurse Cavell’s place in history is briefly summarised in this quote from the website of the NSW Nurses Association –
“Edith Cavell remains an inspiration to nurses everywhere. Born in England in 1865, she was an accomplished linguist, musician and artist. After a distinguished nursing career in England, she was invited by a surgeon to establish a nursing school in Brussels.
When World War 1 started, Edith stayed to nurse wounded soldiers, some of them Germans. Tragically she was executed by the German authorities because of her heroic efforts to help Belgian and other allied refugees to escape.”
Finally in quite recent years the family connection has been clearly established.
