Edith Cavell was born on the 4th of December 1865 near Norfolk and was the oldest of four children. Her father was a vicar, who always taught her the importance of loving and caring for others. In 1890, she became a governess for a family in Belgium, before returning home to care for her sick father. She enrolled in nursing school in 1896, and graduated in 1898. In 1907, she became a matron at the nursing school in Belgium.