Since 1965 the Florence Nightingale Commemoration service has been taking place each year at Westminster Abbey. Core to the service has always been the lamp carriers and escorts in the procession: nursing and midwifery leaders – FNF alumni – playing a key role in this very special event.
In the weeks running up to the 61st service, can you help us find the missing names and photos of those who carried the lamp, so we can complete the collection?
Is one of the missing people a family member, a friend or colleague? You can help us by sharing this page or our social media posts with your colleagues and networks so that we can reach as many nurses and midwives as possible.
Help us complete our collection and fill the missing gaps in this historical event.
If you do know someone on the list, get in touch with us, or ask them to get in touch with us. This can be done via email, or you can comment on our social media posts which will be sharing on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. We are using the hashtag #LegacyOfTheLamp so please do keep an eye out for it.
"The symbolism of the Lamp carrying in terms of the passing on of nursing knowledge is very evocative and long may the ceremony continue as a highlight of the professional calendar."
Dr Shona Brown – Lamp Carrier in 1995
About the Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service
The Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service has been held annually at Westminster Abbey since 1965. It is a very important day in the annual FNF calendar and, indeed, for nursing and midwifery communities worldwide, as we come together to give thanks and to celebrate nurses and midwives everywhere who continue Florence Nightingale’s legacy today.
About the Lamp
Central to the commemoration service is the Lamp. Florence Nightingale was known as ‘The Lady with The Lamp’ as she made her rounds at night tending to the soldiers wounded in the Crimean War.
The Lamp used in the service today was purchased in memory of Mrs Kathleen Dampier-Bennett, a committee member of the Foundation from 1951-1968. The Lamp is inscribed in her memory and was dedicated by the Dean of Westminster at the service on 12 May 1970, the 150th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. It has been used at every service since
This Year’s Service
You can find out more about this year’s service here. And we will soon be sharing details of this years Lamp Carrier and Escort, so do look out for this news coming soon!
