The Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service

The 59th Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service will take place next month in London. 

The service is held annually at Westminster Abbey in memory of Florence Nightingale who was known as ‘The Lady with The Lamp’ as she made her rounds at night tending to the soldiers wounded in the Crimean War.

Central to the commemoration service is the Lamp. The Lamp was purchased in memory of Mrs Kathleen Dampier-Bennett, a committee member of the Florence Nightingale Foundation from 1951 to 1968. The Lamp is inscribed in her memory and was dedicated by the Dean of Westminster at the service on May 12, 1970, the 150th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. It has been used at every service since.

Invitations for the service have already been sent to Florence Nightingale Foundation members and Alumni from the past year. 

The Foundation’s limited number of public tickets to attend the Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service, are now available for applications. Click here to apply.

The 58th Florence Nightingale Commemoration Service took place on May 16, 2023 at St Paul’s Cathedral.

There was a change in the venue from Westminster Abbey to St Paul’s due to the Coronation of King Charles III. Click here to read the foundation’s blog about the event and to see photographs taken on the day.

This year’s event will take place on May 15, 2024.

Click here to find out what to expect and what makes this such a special event.