Sirona chairman Simon Knighton will be taking on an extra-special mountain climb this week when he climbs to the summit of Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park in Canada.
He will be marking the 100th anniversary of British nurse Edith Cavell’s execution at dawn during World War One.
The 65-year-old, who is the chairman of Sirona care & health which provides community health and adult social care in Bath and North East Somerset and South Gloucestershire, is also chairman of the Cavell Nurses’ Trust.
The Trust is marking the centenary of Cavell’s death with a series of fundraising events as the charity was set up following her execution to help nurses during difficult times.
Simon said: “The centenary year is to raise her profile and also raise funds for the Trust. She was a heroine who gave care to wounded soldiers from both sides.”
Simon has taken part in a cycle ride between Edith’s birthplace in Norfolk and Belgium where she died, climbed Kilimanjaro and is now in Canada to climb Mount Edith Cavell along with 99 others.
“We will lay a wreath to commemorate 100 years since her execution,” he said.
“The charity is really important as Edith Cavell epitomised the values of British nursing – caring, respect, integrity and professionalism.
“She said to her nurses when the Germans arrived that ‘we must care for everyone who comes through out doors’.
“The idea of putting the person first and giving care is how she wanted her nurses to be.
“She easily epitomises the values today in the six C’s – care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment.
“There is no other benevolent fund for nurses – we are there to help nurses who fall on hard times during and after their career.”
The Cavell Nurses’ Trust was set up in 1917 following the public outcry that followed Cavell’s execution. Mount Edith Cavell was named after her in 1916.
To sponsor Simon visit https://www.justgiving.com/Simon-Knighton2 and for more information visit www.cavellnursestrust.org.
