![shaka 59 gif7.gif](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/u6ehLpqC-shaka205920gif7.gif)














This week, @shaka has offered the LMAC community a stirring photo of what appears to be a war-weary figure. 

@shaka's Photo
![hWAlWUk  Imgur.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/T5yb0Mfj-hWAlWUk20-20Imgur.jpg)

I knew immediately the statue was not going to be part of my collage, but would inspire it.  While it seemed important to capture the mood (as I saw it) of this statue, I wanted the message to be more forward-looking, less despairing.  So I called upon Florence Nightingale, "The Lady with the Lamp", to help out.   

***Florence Nightingale as the Lady with the Lamp***
 ![Florence Nightingaleas_the_lady_with_the_lamp._Oil_painting_Wellcome 4.0.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/zFgqgbzd-Florence20Nightingaleas_the_lady_with_the_lamp._Oil_painting_Wellcome204.0.jpg)
*Image credit: Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-29): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/wtaxxvvz [CC-BY-4.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Florence_Nightingale_as_the_lady_with_the_lamp._Oil_painting_Wellcome_V0017994.jpg)*
![border 10.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/2IED0DPc-border2010.jpg)

Florence Nightingale earned the enduring love of her country for her service during the Crimean War.  Since performing that service, she has earned the enduring respect and admiration of millions across the world because of the healthcare reforms she promoted.
### The Crimean War (March, 1854-Frebruary, 1856)

***The First Shot of the War, April 6, 1854***
 ![crimean war Richard Henry Nibbs 18161893First_Shot_of_the_War,_6_April_1854 public_Royal_Museums_Greenwich.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/3kbwxXhY-crimean20war20Richard20Henry20Nibbs201816-1893First_Shot_of_the_War_6_April_185420public_Royal_Museums_Greenwich.jpg)
*Richard Henry Nibbs (1816-1893)[Public domain](https://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/secondary/History/11-16/EdexcelGCSESHPHistory2013/Samples/Warfare(1C)/HistoryB1C1850-1900Rapidchangepreview.pdf)*

The Crimean War has been called the first modern war. Combatants had the benefit of so many new, and improved weapons.  [Mass produced](https://www.pearsonschoolsandfecolleges.co.uk/secondary/History/11-16/EdexcelGCSESHPHistory2013/Samples/Warfare(1C)/HistoryB1C1850-1900Rapidchangepreview.pdf) rifles. [Bessemer](https://www.pulmans.co.uk/news/item/news/henry-bessemers-early-life) shells, and Bessemer guns.  [Floating mines.](https://www.rbth.com/science_and_tech/2014/12/08/protective_screen_how_the_naval_mine_gave_st_petersburg_brea_42071.html) And [armored assault vessels](https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2013/10/crimea-the-first-modern-war/) with long-range weapons. 

***Charge of the Heavy Cavalry Brigade, 25th October, 1854***
![crimean war Charge_of_the_heavy_cavalry_brigade,_25th_Octr._1854 public.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/PQI33D5G-crimean20war20Charge_of_the_heavy_cavalry_brigade_25th_Octr._185420public.jpg)
*Credit: W. Simpson del. ; E. Walker lith. 1854 [Public domain.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charge_of_the_heavy_cavalry_brigade,_25th_Octr._1854.jpg)*

The picture is an engraving made for Queen Victoria. It shows the Battle of Balaclava. It was at this battle that the famed ['Light Brigade'](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/charge-of-the-light-brigade) charged.  In this [disastrous miscalculation,](https://www.history.com/news/the-charge-of-the-light-brigade-160-years-ago)  out of a total force of 670, 110 British soldiers died, 160 were wounded, and 375 horses perished.  

Getting wounded, in the Crimean War, was often a death sentence. 

### More Died of Wounds and Illness Than Fell in Battle
 ***Barrack Hospital in Scutari***
![Crimean War,Barrack hospital _Turkey;_panoramic_view_of_the_Barrack_Hospital,_Wellcome_V0015410.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/b2rElvzQ-Crimean20WarBarrack20hospital20_Turkey_panoramic_view_of_the_Barrack_Hospital_Wellcome_V0015410.jpg)
*Credit: Wood engraving by Whitehead after R.P. Leit. [Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-28): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/qh4yuyry CC-BY-4.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crimean_War,_Turkey;_panoramic_view_of_the_Barrack_Hospital,_Wellcome_V0015410.jpg)*

By late 1854, it was evident that a devastating number of British soldiers were dying in the Barrack hospital at Scutari. An [article](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920984/) (2010) in the *American Journal of Public Health* explains:"Ten times more soldiers were dying of diseases such as typhus, typhoid, cholera, and dysentery than from battle wounds".

The [Secretary of War](https://www.history.com/topics/womens-history/florence-nightingale-1) asked Florence Nightingale to bring a contingent of nurses to Crimea to see if the mortality rate could be lowered.  

***One of the Wards in the Hospital at Scutari***
![florence scutari hospital  4.0 welcome.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/j9g4ZssI-florence20scutari20hospital20204.020welcome.jpg)
*William Simpson (artist, 1823–1899), E. Walker (lithographer), Restoration by Adam Cuerden [Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-21): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/ssfhw5uq CC-BY-4.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%27One_of_the_wards_in_the_hospital_at_Scutari%27._Wellcome_M0007724_-_restoration,_cropped.jpg)*

The conditions Nightingale found were appalling: "...there was no clean linen; the clothes of the soldiers were swarming with bugs, lice, and fleas; the floors, walls, and ceilings were filthy; and rats were hiding under the beds". (From [*The American Journal of Public Health*](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2920984/)).  

Upon investigation, it was discovered that, in addition to all its other difficulties, the hospital had been built over [a sewer.](https://www.thehindu.com/features/kids/Lady-of-the-lamp/article14412555.ece)   

***Burial Ground at Barrack Hospital in Scutari***
![Crimean War Scutari;_burial_ground._Coloured_lithograph Wellcome 4.0.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/JnQbbfvJ-Crimean20War20Scutari_burial_ground._Coloured_lithograph20Wellcome204.0.jpg)
*Credit:Coloured lithograph by Dickinson after Precivsi. From [Wellcome Collection gallery (2018-03-28): https://wellcomecollection.org/works/c3txfh6q CC-BY-4.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Crimean_War,_Scutari;_burial_ground._Coloured_lithograph_by_Wellcome_V0015427.jpg)*
![border 10.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/2IED0DPc-border2010.jpg)

Florence Nightingale brought to her task at Scutari an ideal combination of skills.  She was first of all compassionate. It was said that long after other staff had gone to bed at night, she would walk the wards and tend patients.  It was soldiers in the wards who gave her the name, ['Lady with the Lamp'.](https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/florence-nightingale-lady-lamp)

***Florence Nightingale Tending Sick Soldiers at Scutari Hospital***
![Nightingaleillustratedlondonnewsfeb241855 public.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/DOHQnY8m-Nightingale-illustrated-london-news-feb-24-185520public.jpg)
*Credit: Illustrated London News, February 24, 1855. [Public domain](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nightingale-illustrated-london-news-feb-24-1855.jpg)*

However, Florence Nightingale was more than a compassionate human being. She was "one of the most prominent statisticians in history".(From [*The American Statistical Association*](https://thisisstatistics.org/florence-nightingale-the-lady-with-the-data/)) She had insisted as a child that she be instructed in math, although this was not recommended for girls(!). As a nurse, she used data to help her understand the pattern of illness and death.  This data also was helpful after the Crimean War when she became actively involved in healthcare reform, both civilian and military.

***Diagram of the Causes of Mortality in the Army in the East***
![crimean was Nightingalemortality public.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/yTo8wkvS-crimean20was20Nightingale-mortality20public.jpg)
*Credit: Florence Nightingale,1856. [Public domain.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nightingale-mortality.jpg) This chart was submitted to Queen Victoria as part of Nightingale's report on her Scutari experience and also as support for reforms she hoped to make in healthcare delivery.*
![border 10.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/2IED0DPc-border2010.jpg)

Florence Nightingale received accolades for her service during the Crimean War and for her contributions afterwards. She did pay a price. She herself became severely ill while in Scutari and never fully regained her health.  She lived the remainder of her years (died in 1910) a semi-invalid.  Despite her illness she remained a formidable force in medicine.

In 1860 she founded the first professional nursing school at St. Thomas Hospital

***Florence Nightingale with Nursing Students at St. Thomas Hospital***
![Florence_nightingale_at_st_thomas credit  former bbc 4.0.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/fkdzKDhs-Florence_nightingale_at_st_thomas20credit2020former20bbc204.0.jpg)
*Credit: Former BBC. [CC license 4.0](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Florence_nightingale_at_st_thomas.jpg)*
![border 10.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/2IED0DPc-border2010.jpg)


It would be impossible in the space of a blog to do credit to the life of this remarkable woman. An article in [*Clinical Infectious Diseases*](https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/40/12/1799/314039) attempts to sum up her achievements: "Florence Nightingale's influence today extends beyond her undeniable impact on the field of modern nursing to the areas of infection control, hospital epidemiology, and hospice care".

![border 10.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/Qe0etyBB-border2010.jpg)
![border 10.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/2IED0DPc-border2010.jpg)

### <center>My Collage</center>

When I saw @shaka's photo, it seemed to me the statue was of a woman.  It was a war-weary figure that looked out at the water with perhaps dismal design. I thought immediately of Florence Nightingale.  I had to remove the statue of the despairing (it seemed) figure and replace it with a forward-looking Florence Nightingale. (This wasn't easy.  There were many steps.)

![shaka 59b for blog.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/hCmac38m-shaka2059b20for20blog.jpg)

I replaced the background, to place Florence in a war setting, where there was evident danger.
![shaka 59h for blog.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/RakBy10m-shaka2059h20for20blog.jpg) 
(The goat and owls were ideas dispatched--she used a goat for milk while in Crimea and had a dearly loved owl at home.)
![shaka 59u for blog.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/urW5PxUQ-shaka2059u20for20blog.jpg)
Finding the right figure to place at the center of the blog was a challenge. The statue I settled upon expresses what I wanted to say.

After all that was done, I played with lighting.  Enhanced the explosives in the background and added a lamp to the Florence statue).  On the way to this collage there were a couple of GIFs,  I rejected. Here's one:
![shaka 59 gif6.gif](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/NFSuUSyW-shaka205920gif6.gif)

I decided quiet understatement was more appropriate.

Elements, all public domain:
[Florence Nightingale statue](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Florence_Nightingale_statue.jpg)
[Lamp](https://pixabay.com/de/illustrations/kerosin-retro-lampe-beleuchtung-3385486/)
[Soldiers](https://pixabay.com/de/photos/rotkehlchen-soldat-t%C3%BCrkische-milit%C3%A4r-4048669/)
[Background](https://pixabay.com/es/photos/buques-mar-transporte-de-carga-3279713/)

*Paint3D*, *GIMP* and *Paint* were used as tools for resizing, lighting, etc.

![border 10.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/Qe0etyBB-border2010.jpg)
Thank you @shaka for the work you put in to make LMAC a vibrant community.  Each one of these collage exercises is for me not only a creative exercise but also a learning experience.
Please readers, take a look at @shaka's [blog](https://peakd.com/hive-174695/@shaka/let-s-make-a-collage-a-contest-for-all-creatives-on-hive-round-59-151-hive-in-the-weekly-prize-pool) to see how others interpreted this week's template photo.  If you'd  like to join in (yes, do!), we have a [school](https://peakd.com/hive-174695/@lmac/the-lmac-school-acquire-the-skills-to-bring-your-ideas-to-life) run by @quantumg to help you along. This very talented gentleman answers questions outside of class, also :)

![lmac graphic3.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/jljHY1h0-lmac20graphic3.jpg)

<center>*Thank you for reading my blog*</center>
<center>![fox and squirrel friendsgif.gif](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/agmoore/eEIsHs6e-fox20and20squirrel20friendsgif.gif)</center>
<center>*Hive on!*</center>