A LETTER handwritten by Florence Nightingale in the 1850s has been unearthed at Cornwall’s Army Museum.

The letter from the nurse and social reformer was addressed to relatives of an injured soldier, and written when Florence Nightingale was working at the Scutari Hospital during the Crimean War.

Collections manager at Bodmin Keep Verity Anthony said: ’The reason the letter in the museum’s collection is that the 46th Regiment of Foot she refers to in the letter is one of the ancestral regiments of the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. ’It’s amazing to hold something like this in your hand and we’re delighted to have rediscovered it this year, the 200th anniversary of her birth.’

Florence Nightingale was well-known for her emphasis on hand-washing to prevent the transmission of infection at a time when this was not common practice.

Today, with the Nightingale hospitals created to accommodate people suffering from Covid 19, her legacy and name is once again in the public eye

The discovery of the letter has inspired the Bodmin Keep museum to make the next edition of its popular ‘Keep Kids’ home learning activity sheets all about Women in War. It will feature the stories of women in war from Victorian times to the present day, including local Boer War campaigner Emily Hobhouse and museum team member Rhonda Seymour who served as a medic with the Territorial Army.

You can download the free Keep Kids Women in War activity sheet from May 14 at https://bodminkeep.org/schools/learning-resources-2/

Meanwhile, the Florence Nightingale Museum website has a special exhibition to mark her bicentenary at https://www.florence-nightingale.co.uk/200exhibits/