A free event on 5th November, Saturday, focusing on the life of war heroes Ada Bodart and Edith Cavell will be held from 11.30am to 2pm, at the Bagenal’s Castle, Abbey Way, Newry. Ada and Edith were part of a secret network in German-occupied Brussels during the First World War that helped Allied soldiers and prisoners-of-war to escape into neutral Holland. Edith was arrested and executed, whereas Ada was sentenced to a 15-year imprisonment with hard labour.
The free event involving Newry Museum is co-funded by the Queen University’s Living Legacies 1914-1918, and University of Kent’s Gateways to the First World War Centre. The event will have Dr. Robert Whan talking about the Newry connection in the context of contribution of women of Newry and Mourne district to the First World War. Professor of French Cultural History at University of Leeds, Prof. Alison Fell, will talk about the Cavell network, discussing how it functioned, the kind of people involved and on how the network is remembered, after its members were arrested, imprisoned executed, in Germany and France. Finally, a native German, Dr. Claudia Sternberg, based at University of Leeds, would be talking about a controversial black & white silent movie produced on Edith Cavell in 1928. Although a free event, pre-booking is needed and to reserve a place, call 028 3031 3173, or send an email to robert.whan@nmandd.org.
