Mark Bostridge at the erection of a statue to Mary Seacole at St Thomas' Hospital in London. In interviews Bostridge explained that he was not opposed to a statue to Seacole but to the siting of it at the hospital where Florence Nightingale founded her nurse training school in 1860, influencing the development of nursing throughout the world. Bostridge argues that Seacole was not a "pioneer nurse" as some of the statue campaigners maintain. He also points to the way in which Nightingale's enormous contributions to public health are now commonly and mistakenly attributed to Seacole by a wide range of British
Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery to meet her in person, especially since Nightingale's profile has been made well-known nationwide after the Crimean War. Nightingale kept extensive notes on all the students in the school, including their 'character'. She has placed certain importance to character; should there be any issue about one's character, the 'certification' of such nurse would be opposed to. Between 1860 and 1903 the school certified 1,907 nurses as having had one year's training. Many of the trainees went on to be matrons or superintendents of nursing. Over the years, the training and the school itself went through a series of changes, mergers