This website is devoted to the Duty and Honor of Nurse Catherine Pine (1864-1941), and to the meticulous and painstaking research of Historian Elizabeth Crawford, who in those pre-internet days, engaged in the intense and solitary labor of scholarship, dug up Nurse Pine's will, read it and reported on it, without which the contents herein would not be possible. Elizabeth Crawford also helped save the website and other materials from several errors and omissions. Any remaining errors/omissions are those of the website's author, Hope Elizabeth May. She kindly requests that you contact her, if you should discover any issues.

Thanks to the loving research of British Historian Elizabeth Crawford, we know that Nurse Pine bequeathed her medal upon her death in 1941 to be used in the teaching of nursing history and its connection to women's struggle for political equality. You can read Nurse Pine's Last Will and Testament here. While the medal was delivered to its intended destination in 1941, namely, the History Section of the British College of Nurses, it eventually was lost, as discovered by Elizabeth Crawford, and described in Crawford's 2016 blog post titled "The Mystery of Nurse Pine's Medal." The medal has now been found. Aware of Pine's intent, Dr. Hope Elizabeth May (creator of this website) purchased the medal at auction in April 2024. Dr. May contacted the Florence Nightingale Museum in London in 2025 about the medal. After subsequent meetings the Museum launched, in connection with International Women's Day, a special "In Focus" exhibit on Nurse Catherine Pine in March 2026. For press about the exhibit, click here.

An encumbered object, possession of the medal comes with a duty to tell its story. This website was created to do just that.


  • In 2021, after reading Elizabeth Crawford's 2016 Blog Post, Dr. Hope Elizabeth May realized that she had seen Nurse Pine's medal in a 1990 newspaper article describing that it was coming up for auction. At the time, May was researching, for the purposes of re-creating, the "Medals for Valour" or "Hunger Strike Medals" that were given by the WSPU to women who engaged in hunger strikes, some of whom were forcibly fed. For more on the medals recreated by Dr. May, click here.

  • With the lead provided by the 1990 auction, May conducted further research, from which she learned that the medal was sold at auction in 2008 by the London Auction House Morton & Eden for 3400 pounds (about $4300 in 2024, and $5400 in 1990).

  • May communicated her discovery to Elizabeth Crawford on December 28, 2021.

  • On January 5, 2022, May communicated with James Morton of Morton & Eden. James Morton confirmed that he remembered the sale of Nurse Pine's medal, and recalled both the vendor (consignor) and buyer of the medal. He agreed to forward "To the buyer" and "To the vendor" letters on May's behalf to the respective parties. He also communicated that the buyer was a male in the United States.

  • On January 6, 2022, May drafted and sent to James Morton "to the buyer" and "to the vendor" letters which you can read here. Having no response after a month, May reached out to James Morton again on February 6, 2022. Still, no response.


  • On January 11, 2024, Crawford wrote to May informing her of the upcoming auction of Pine's medal in the United States.

  • In an attempt to form a legal argument to stop the auction of the medal, from January 2024 - March 2024, Crawford and May engaged in archival research at the UK National Archives about the dissolution of The British College of Nurses (BCN) in 1956, The archives did not reveal a compelling legal argument, but rather confusion and the failure of the BCN to follow their own bylaws as it was shutting down.

  • In March and April 2024, Elizabeth contacted several relevant institutions in the UK that have a connection to nursing history, hoping to find support for the purchase of the medal. She was unsuccessful as none of these institutions had the funding for such purchases.

  • On April 26, 2024, Dr. Hope Elizabeth May, keenly feeling the duty to do so, acquired the medal at auction. Realizing that the medal is "encumbered" with Pine's intent, Dr. May is mere steward of the medal. In her view, the medal imposes an epistemological burden - the obligation to use it to educate others about the its contents and related issues for medical ethics and several pertinent legal questions.

  • The creation of this website and associated content such as videos is one of the ways which May is discharging her burden. All materials were made with love after May received the medal on May 7, 2024, ironically Nurse Pine's 160th birthday. As May made created the content that you find here, she would glance at the precious object on her desk, and read relevant entries in Elizabeth Crawford's "The Woman's Suffrage Movement: A Reference Guide: 1866-1928" as well as relevant sections of June Purvis' biography of Emmeline Pankhurst titled "Emmeline Pankhurst: A Biography." "The discharge of the burden is rather a delight", says May.

  • On June 26, 2024, the medal had its first official outing where it was viewed by Nikki Hough Focken, owner of Red Door Salon, who generously contributed to the effort to obtain the medal when it came up for auction on April 26, 2024. As it happened, Dr. Hope Elizabeth May was having her hair done on that day by Ms. Focken, and inspired by the story, Ms. Focken generously donated monies towards the effort to win the auction.

  • On November 27, 2024, the day prior to Thanksgiving, Dr. May offered a special "extra credit" session for her students (handout here). In that session, she discussed the philosophical dimension of one's Last Will and Testament. An updated version of this session was offered on November 26, 2025 (2025 handout here). Photos and short videos of these sessions and other private sessions of Pine's medal doing its educational work in the United States can be viewed here.

  • On July 31, 2025, after receiving a newsletter from the Florence Nightingale Museum (FNM) about an exhibit on Dame Cecily Saunders (1918-2005). Because May perceives a profound through-line of moral energy that connects Florence Nightingale, Nurse Pine, and Dame Saunders, she felt the call to reach out to the Museum about Nurse Pine's Medal. She sent an email to Melissa Wert to this effect. On August 6, 2025, May met with (via Zoom) Laura Sharpe (General Manager of the FNM) and Ms. Wert (Commercial and Operations Officer of the FNM).

  • Subsequent Zoom meetings between May and the FNM followed on 9/9/2025, 10/14/2025, and 12/4/2025 which included Hannah Amos (Collections Manager of the FNM) and Hedvig Kovács, a graduate student at Westminster University interning with the FNM. Dr. May's possession of Pine's medal was the proximate cause in the FNM's decision to create an "In Focus" exhibit on Nurse Pine. Of course, Dr. May was delighted at this development. She suggested a launch day coinciding with International Women's Day, not only for its significance, but also because it coincided with the Spring Break of Central Michigan University, where Dr. May teaches (in the Department of Philosophy, Anthropology, and Religion).

  • On December 8, 2025, Hannah Amos of the FNM participated in an episode of the "Virtues of Peace" podcast focused on Dame Cicely Saunders. Randall Olson (Board member and Treasurer of the Cora di Brazzà Foundation) participated alongside May. Ms. Amos conducted research for the exhibit on Saunders for the FNM and an excellent dialogue on Dame Saunders was had.

  • On November 22, 2025, May reached out to the U.K. based Philosophy Foundation, believing that the Pine exhibit at the FNM provided an excellent opportunity for engaged Philosophical Enquiry with children and families, the speciality of the Philosophy Foundation. May met with some of the team at the Philosophy Foundation (Kim Down and Steve Hoggins (via Zoom)) about the rich philosophical content connected to Nurse Pine's medal. Subsequent meetings followed.

  • In December 2025, May finished her paper that outlines the philosophical and legal dimensions of the story of Pine's medal. Titled "Appearance and Disappearance: What a Suffragette's Last Will and Testament can teach us about Posthumous Harm", the paper is currently under review by an academic journal.

  • In 2025, The Florence Nightingale Museum and Dr. May agreed that Pine's medal would be the focal point of a special 'In Focus' exhibit at the museum.

  • On January 27, 2026, Laura Sharpe (General Manager of the FNM) and Hannah Amos (Collections Manager of the FNM) were interviewed by BBC radio for the first time! Interviewed by Eddie Nestor, Laura and Hannah, with the moral power of the medal, are helping to educate the UK about the Florence Nightingale Museum and the upcoming exhibit about Nurse Catherine Pine! Listen to the snippet here.

  • On March 3, 2026, Dr. May voyaged to London from Michigan, U.S.A. to deliver the medal. Several of her former students, Randall Olson, Ryley Olson, Sia Kim, and Teresa Homsi, departed for London shortly thereafter to participate in the medal's "return home." May, Randall, and Ryley are involved in the Cora di Brazzà Foundation, which May founded in 2019.

  • On March 5, 2026, Dr. May and Sia Kim (from Busan, South Korea) personally delivered the medal to the Florence Nightingale Museum, specifically Laura Sharpe (Director), Hannah Amos, and Hedvig Kovács. It was a moving, educational exchange, and with representatives from the U.S., U.K., South Korea, and Hungary, a right proper gathering in anticipation of International Women's Day.

  • On March 6, 2026, in connection with International Women's Day, The Florence Nightingale Museum (FNM) launched its "In Focus" exhibit on Nurse Pine. For press, click here. The research on the exhibit was conducted by Hedvig Kovács, Exhibitions and Collections Intern at the FNM who is currently pursuing her Master's Degree in Museums, Galleries and Contemporary Culture at Westminster University.

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