Good Morning Year 2!
Click on this link if you would like a printable version of this blog page: Tuesday Geography printable
Today we’re going to have a look at some maps to help us work out the journey that Florence Nightingale took to get to the Scutari Hospital from her home in England.
But first, can you remember what this sign means, and what the letters N, S, E and W stand for?
I use ‘Never Eat Shredded Wheat’ to help me remember the order, do you have a way to remember the order around a compass? We’ll need this to help us later. Before we can do our work, we need to learn a little bit more about Florence Nightingale and how she ended up working in Scutari Hospital.
The Crimean War took place between 1853 and 2856. Crimea is located in Europe, by the Black Sea. It is close to Ukraine, Turkey and Russia. Lots of soldiers were wounded in the Crimean War and in Britain there were newspaper reports of the terrible conditions wounded soldiers were suffering at the hospital in Scutari in Turkey.
The UK government asked Florence to take a group of nurses out to the Crimea to help the wounded at Scutari hospital. Look at the map below and see how she got from the UK to the hospital in Scutari.
Today, I would like you to write a diary entry of Florence’s journey to Scutari hospital. I want you to include the mode of transport and the direction she was going in (use your compass points!) You can include how she felt along the way.
If you want to do a bit more research about her, then you could include what the hospital was like when she first arrived in Scutari.
Dear Diary
Morning?! Already?! Yesterday I was hoping for a big lie in and now I remember I have to go all the way to Scutari or whatever it’s called. My maid brought me a cup of tea. I tried to drink it in bed. And failed. What a great start to the day! I reluctantly trudged down the stairs to meet the bowl of moosh (commonly known as porridge) at the table. Then I packed my bags, said goodbye and set off for Elisabeth Station. Or was it Kings Cross. Or was it Paddington Station. Never mind that. So, as I said, I had a very long train journey. Then, I canoed all the way there it only took three days, which is a very short time for the very long distance.
Dear Diary
I get off my boat. I walk a bit. I walk a bit more. I have to say I did walk a bit more than I predicted. It took time until a way through popped up in my head. My idea was to say things like “iDisculpe!”* and “Es tut mir sehr sehr leid!”** to get through, but that did not work one bit. It was a tough walk but in the end I did it. The hospital I was supposed to be working at looked like it was deserted. “How can people possibly survive here?” I thought.
Dear Diary
I went in through the creaky doors. I sat on an uncomfortable chair and sat next to a very grubby nurse. “Hello.” She said. “This place needs a good old makeover!” I said. “Looks more like a dungeon than a hospital!” “In fact, if this hospital
didn’t have such a welcome and there are no doctors or nurses here, then I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference!” “I know!” agreed the nurse, a little moved (in a bad way). I could see it in her eyes. Was it the eyeball? Or was it the iris? Or was it the pupils? It could be any, but which part didn’t matter. All that mattered is that I could see it in her eyes. I gave it a makeover like I said (I didn’t exactly say that). I cleared rats out of the toilets, got rid of the moths in the beds, got better food and drink and made it look like a dungeon no longer.
I loved reading this Rex. I always find your writing so entertaining. I’m really missing it at the moment. I’m not sure I would have been the superhero Florence Nightingale was. Clearing out those rats would have done it for me!!
Very entertaining Rex! I had to use Google translate to work out what you wrote in Spanish and German!
Can you use some of the compass points to describe where you went?
One day when I woke up someone told me that there was a war and our hero soldiers were fighting in Crimea. I felt worried and very upset because people were going to die. I left Great Britain and travelled South East to Crimea on a ship, wagon and on foot.
When I got there I was so tired because I had to travel 299 miles.
Then I started helping people who were sick in Scutari hospital. I also asked some people if they wanted to become nurses and they said yes. When we arrived we were shocked the hospital was very dirty.
We made sure people washed their hands because we were touching injured patients. We didn’t want to touch people’s open cuts with dirty hands. We also cleaned the floors because there was rats.
Brilliant Marisa! Washing our hands seems so normal now, but it was a revolutionary idea when Florence suggested it!
Once I took a journey to Scutari in Turkey to help the wounded soldiers. I thought about helping the soldiers so I travelled by boat, train and boat and the ways I took were south, east and north. I was happy to help the people in the hospital who were hurt. After I helped then I went back to London to live.
I thought this was hard but it was fun.
I’m glad you enjoyed it Layla! It is hard to describe where someone has been.
21 Oct 1854
I went South on a boat which took me from England to France and the journey was smooth.
24 Oct 1854
I went South on a train through France and then we went on a mail steamer to Scutari.
26 Oct 1854
We went East for several days and not much happened.
1 Nov 1854
We had to get past lots of rocks as we went North.
4 Nov 1854
We arrived safely at Scutari.
Well done for looking up the dates of her travels Finley!
Wow Marisa I think Florence Nightingale was a superhero just getting to the Scutari hospital. Imagine that journey all those years ago!
Dear Dairy,
Today I traveled south from England to France by boat. I was asked by the Uk government to go with a group of nurses to help wounded soldiers in Crimea. I never traveled so far from home ? in my life. It’s
both scary and exciting.
Dear Diary,
Today we caught a train from northern France that is going to take us to South of France where we will embark on a ship ? for the next part of our journey. We saw lots of grass and birds ? on the noisy train ?.
Dear Diary,
Today we embarked on a ship for the final part of our trip. We are going south around Italy and then east towards the Black Sea. Then
we are going north to Crimea.
Dear Diary,
After a long journey, we finally arrived to the Scutari hospital. I was horrified by the dirty and filthy conditions of the hospital and the suffering of the patients. I think a lot of work needs to be done.
Brilliant work Marie, I’m glad to see you using north and south to describe the countries as well.
Dear Diary,
Today I went off to Paris. I was worried that it would be a bad journey and that I might meet pirates! Luckily, nothing like that happened. I set off from a village in the south of England for France. I travelled south across the English Channel by boat. The boat was very big but very light and I had to row it all the way as it had no sails. I only brought a very small crew of nurses. We took turns. The best news is we asked an athlete who was a rower to row us across some parts and he agreed so we could spend most of the time laying at the back of the boat or diving into the sea having fun. I felt worried about sea creatures like sea urchins and sharks or that the boat could crash and we would all get killed. Luckily the sea was deep blue and calm.
I will be in Paris tomorrow and travelling even further to reach my goal, the Scutari hospital. Pray for me!
Bye bye Diary. See you in the morning.
What an adventure you were having already, and you had only made it to Paris! Well done Nadine.
Hello Miss Carruthers
It’s sooooo boring when I have to stay inside when it is raining.
I really want isolation to end?!?!
Cannot wait to see the school again.
Stay safe.
Nadine
Hi Nadine,
I know, it is such a miserable day with all this rain. Very different to the glorious weather at the weekend! All the staff at St Vincent’s are missing you all lots too. It’s very strange not seeing you all each day!
Hope you are all staying safe too,
Miss Carruthers
My Journey to Scutari Hospital
My trip is a long one it is tiring me, myself and my nurses took out on a boat we went south starting from Great Britain.
The boat trip took one day, I felt happy and joyful on the first day, the next day we got to a new land found a train and took it, we went south again.
I felt worried if the soldiers in Crimea would be okay, asking myself that very question. It took a further two days travelling south east to get to another new land, I became a little bit sad because I left my family in Great Britain.
It took a few days to get to Scutari hospital, I felt relieved getting there to help the soldiers.
Well done for including all her feelings.!
Tuesday
Today I left England and went on a boat south across the English Channel to France. I’m on my way to Scutari to help wounded soldiers there.
Thursday
I travelled southeast on a train through France and ended up on the coast.
Friday
Today I left for Scutari. The ship is heading southeast and will turn north in a few days.
Wednesday
I was happy to finally get to the hospital in Scutari! Now I can begin caring for the soldiers.
Good work John, excellent use of the compass points.
Dear Diary,
Today, the newspaper reports of the terrible conditions wounded soldiers were suffering at the hospital in Scutari in Turkey and I was asked to take a group of nurses out to the Crimea to help the wounded at Scutari hospital.
It is a long long journey to travel from England to Scutari. First, we set off from South of England by ship to Bouloge, then overland to Marseilles where we had to have a break in the journey. Then, from Marseilles we take the mail steamer to Scutari. If everything goes on plan, it will take us 13 days to get there ( near the South West of Black Sea). I wish I can get there as fast as I can so I can help them sooner.
Dear Diary,
Today, I have finally arrived at Scutari! The conditions in the hospital were really bad. Hundreds of soldiers were injured in the war, hospitals were very basic and the soldiers were not given good food and medicines to make them get better. Dirty rooms without any blankets and it is overcrowded. More Injured soldiers died from diseases than their injures. I think I have to do something to change the situation.
What a long journey! Well done!
Dear Diary,
Today I’m going on a trip to Scutari. I feel sad because soldiers are dying. First, I’ll go south on a boat to France. Then I’ll go on a train heading south to the coast. Finally, I’ll take a boat to Scutari going east. I hope I can help the soldiers get better.
I’m sure you would have been very sad to see all the soldiers like that.
Dear Diary.
Today is the day I am going on a long journey to Turkey ?? .
I’m leaving Great Britain ?? by boat ?♂️ heading south to France ?? . I will travel by train ? further south. Then I go on a boat again onto the Sea ? . First a bit south. Later turning more east. The boat is passing Italy ?? where they eat lots of pasta ? and pizza ?. It makes me hungry. Then when I can see Greece ?? , the boat turns left to the north. Finally, I am so happy ? that I can see Scutari Hospital ? .
Bye, Bo
Brilliant Bo! I like how you have included all the flags of the different countries you travelled through.
I did a poster on j2e.com !
my mum uploaded it.
What a creative way to show your work Madeleine and to practise your computing skills, really well done! I love how you drew on the route that she took, described it underneath and included a compass!
What fantastic descriptions of your journey all of you. I loved reading them all. Florence Nightingale must have been exhausted after that journey and then she still had to nurse all the wounded soldiers. She definitely deserves to be called a superhero.