THEY WOULDN'T SEND HER TO THE CRIMEAN WAR. SO SHE PAID HER OWN WAY.

There are moments when being told no ends a story.

And there are women for whom it merely changes the travel arrangements.

Mary Seacole was born in Jamaica in 1805.

She learned about traditional medicine and caring for the sick from her mother and developed considerable practical experience treating illness.

When the Crimean War began, Seacole travelled to Britain hoping to offer her services.

She wanted to help nurse British soldiers.

She was rejected.

More than once.

So Mary Seacole did something extraordinary.

She went anyway.

She financed her own journey to Crimea and, with Thomas Day, established the British Hotel near Balaclava, providing food, supplies and assistance to soldiers.

She also travelled out towards the fighting to provide food and medical help — sometimes while under fire.

The soldiers came to know her affectionately as Mother Seacole.

When the war ended, however, her business failed and she returned to Britain in serious financial difficulty.

Supporters subsequently organised fundraising efforts for her.

Then, in 1857, she published her autobiography, Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands.

Her story is not simple.

History rarely is.

But there is one part that deserves remembering.

Mary Seacole asked to help.

The authorities said no.

She found another way to get there.

Women Who Built the Future — Steampunk Australia

Leading to the launch of Wrinkles in the Fabric with Dr Kathryn Spurling.

Sometimes the women who change history are the ones who refuse to wait for permission.

The National Army Museum records Seacole's rejection, her self-funded journey to Crimea and her work supplying and assisting soldiers close to the fighting.