30/06/2016 Newsround

Good morning, I'm Ayshah with Thursday's Newsround.

This nurse, called Mary Seacole, was seen as a hero during a war

which happened almost over 200 years ago.

It was called the Crimean War, and claimed the lives

of 25,000 British soldiers. Today she's being given a statue.

It'll be the first one in the UK dedicated to a black woman.

This is the place in London where people who fought and helped in the

Crimean War are remembered. Now, for a long time, people have been

arguing that a nurse called Mary Seacole should be remembered

somewhere as well. 12 years later, she has been given a statue. There

will be outside Saint Thomas' Hospital, and stand at three metres

tall. Children's author Malorie Blackman was one of the people who

campaign for it. If anyone deserves a statue, it is

Mary Seacole. She was way ahead of her time. She was a healer, a

businesswoman, and a traveller, which was really rare for a woman in

Victorian times. But not everyone is happy about it.

Some people think are statue should not be in front of a hospital,

because she was not a trained nurse. And others think it overshadows the

achievements of another train nurse, called Florence and. But Malorie

thinks Mary Seacole is really important to British history.

People like Mary Seacole, black Britons to have been written out of

the history books, I think it is wonderful that we are now beginning

to acknowledge their achievements, and attacked Jewish shows that

actually, people of colour are part and parcel of Britain's history, and

that history belongs to everybody. Now there is a statue for her, it is

hoped more people will get the chance to reflect and remember the

life and times of Mary Seacole. Tomorrow is one hundred years

since start of one of the deadliest It was a battle that

would change the war, Martin's in France, and centres this

report. Hello. I am at the Somme in northern

France, and it would have been in trenches like these that the allies

would have fought against the Germans here. You would not think a

war that happened 100 years ago would have much of an effect on us

today, but as I have found out, it has.

Millions of soldiers from all over the globe fought on both sides

during World War I. But it wasn't just the soldiers who

were in battle. Inventors, scientists and engineers were called

in, and their job was to do one thing - create machines that would

win the war. Back then, the skies were quiet. Planes were a new

invention. But when the war started, they became weapons. Pilots could

spy on enemy targets, and the first bombs were dropped from the air.

Bullets could be fired through propeller blades, and pretty soon,

these guys were full of these deadly machines.

And it was not just on land. It was war at sea. Germany came up with a

deadly weapon, a boat that could travel underwater, a submarine armed

with weapons, the U-boat. The British were too busy looking for

enemies on the surface, and had no idea what was happening below.

Thousands died in torpedo attacks, but the Brits came up with a

solution, and underwater microphone that could detect any U-boat,

stopping them in their tracks. This was to be Britain's ultimate secret

weapon for fighting on the ground, the tank. These huge machines had

caterpillar tracks that rolled easily across the mud and trenches,

crushing everything in their path. Any bullets simply bounced off its

armour. Back then, soldiers had only seen horses and guns. Imagine seeing

one of these were the first time. World War I lasted over four years.

During that time, the way the war was fought changed dramatically,

thanks to some clever inventions, to defeat the enemy. The creators would

probably have never guessed that they continue to shape the world 100

years on. Tomorrow, I will be here it is a

special ceremony, marking 100 years since the start of the battle of the

Somme. If you guys want to know more about this, had to Newsround online,

because we have some special reports and videos about World War I of the

Somme. Activist Judy for now. -- and the battle of the Somme.

I'll be back in about half an hour - with the incredible story

of the 12-year-old boy who fought in World War One