The 24 students provided the centrepiece of the celebration as they formed the traditional escort for the procession of the lamp as it was taken from the Nurses' Chapel in the Abbey to the High Altar.

The lamp itself is carried by a senior member of the profession and is handed to the Dean of the Abbey. This signifies the passing of knowledge from one nurse to another.

The student nurses who formed the escort were selected following a short interview and have been looking forward to the ceremony for some weeks.

Professor Kate Sullivan, Assistant Principal at NEWI, said: "There is no more important figure in the history of nursing than Florence Nightingale and this ceremony is a clear demonstration of the debt the nursing profession owes to the 'Lady with Lamp."

Prof. Sullivan who has a background in nursing, added: "This occasion is a great honour both for the nurses taking part and for NEWI as a whole.

"I have been attending this ceremony for many years and am absolutely delighted that our nurses are providing the escort this year."

The nurses were drawn from all three years of the nursing degree.

Lynda Sackett, a final year nursing student who took part said: "Florence Nightingale is as important and relevant to nursing today as she was 150 years ago.

"She put the patient first and if that meant reforming systems or applying political pressure that's what she did.

"She used all the resources at her disposal to get things done and I think we can all learn a great deal from her which is why I feel so privileged to have taken part in this ceremony."

Nursing education has played an important role in NEWI for many years and its student nurses have gone on to take up posts in hospitals across North Wales and beyond.

To mark the involvement of the NEWI nurses the ceremony, which is held each year near to Florence Nightingale's birthday, had a Welsh theme with Welsh hymns being sung during the service.

At the service there is also a procession of the Nurses' Roll of Honour. This is in remembrance of the nurses who gave their lives in the Second World War while caring for the sick and wounded and whose names are recorded in the Nurses' Chapel.

The Roll is carried by a member of the armed forces and is escorted each year by the three Matrons in Chief of Her Majesty's Armed Forces.

The Chelsea Pensioners also attend the service in recognition of the tremendous work undertaken by Florence Nightingale in reforming the armed forces during her lifetime.