The 61st annual Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service takes place on 12 May, International Nurses Day. The event is hosted by the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF), and this special service gives thanks for, and celebrates, nurses and midwives everywhere who continue Florence Nightingale’s legacy improving health and care today.
We are honoured that Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Edinburgh GCVO will attend the event and read a lesson during the Service. In previous years, Her Royal Highness Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy KG GCVO, has attended as FNF’s Royal Patron.
On the day we will welcome global and UK representatives from across nursing and midwifery organisations, communities and partners.
We will also be joined by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, The Rt Hon Wes Streeting MP, who will also read a lesson during the Service.
Interfaith leaders will take part in the Service, alongside Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir who will sing a hymn in a gospel arrangement.
During the Service, we will remember nurses and midwives named in three Rolls of Honour.
- The Covid-19 Pandemic Roll of Honour, introduced in 2022, is dedicated to all nurses, midwives, nursing associates and healthcare support workers who courageously and selflessly provided care during the pandemic. It will be carried through the Abbey by the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) for Northern Ireland, Katy Rennick, who will be escorted by Duncan Burton (CNO for England), Sue Tranka (CNO for Wales), Aisha Holloway (CNO for Scotland), Kate Brintworth (Chief Midwifery Officer – CMidO – for England) and Caroline Keown (CMidO for Northern Ireland).
- The Commonwealth Roll of Honour, introduced in 1965, commemorates nurses who lost their lives on active service in the Second World War and was compiled by the British Commonwealth Nurses’ War Memorial Fund.
- The third Roll of Honour—introduced last year—remembers 162 nurses who lost their lives in the First World War.
Both WW1 and WW2 Rolls of Honour will be carried through the Abbey by nurses of the Royal Navy and escorted by the Chief Nursing Officers of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. The Rolls of Honour are kept in the Florence Nightingale and Nurses’ Chapel in Westminster Abbey.
A lamp donated in 1970 in memory of Mrs Kathleen Dampier-Bennett (a trustee of the charity from 1951 to 1968) is carried through the Abbey each year.
This year’s Lamp Carrier is Richard Desir, Nursing Officer for the Welsh Government. He will be followed, by two Lamp Escorts: Debbie Cubbitt, Senior Clinical Manager, NHS England (East of England), and Katharine Caddick, Consultant Hepatology Nurse, North Bristol NHS Trust. FNF 2024-25 Scholar Alumni and student nurses and midwives from the University of East London and HCA Healthcare UK will follow. This part of the Service symbolises the transfer of knowledge through generations.
Nurses and midwives are the backbone of our health and care system, yet many work under intense pressure and face burnout, stress and difficult decisions every day. When nurses and midwives are supported to stay, thrive, lead and transform, their impact reaches everyone – patients and families, health and care services, and the communities they serve.
“The Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service is truly the highlight of my year. It is a deeply special occasion to celebrate nurses and midwives who lead the way in caring for their patients and communities, and to remember those who have tragically lost their lives in service. We are delighted to welcome HRH The Duchess of Edinburgh to the Service this year.”
Professor Greta Westwood CBE, FNF’s Chief Executive Officer
With thanks to HCA Healthcare UK for its generous sponsorship of the Service.
“We are proud to sponsor the Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service. It gives us the opportunity to honour Florence’s enduring legacy and recognise the ongoing impact of nursing leadership and excellence. The Florence Nightingale Foundation plays a vital role in nurturing the next generation of nurse leaders, and this sponsorship reflects our shared values of learning, leadership and service.”
Kathryn Hornby, HCA Healthcare UK’s Chief Nursing Executive
