In 2016, she was named as one of "the 50 greatest Welsh men and women of all time" [5] One of the few sources for her life is the book 'Autobiography of Elizabeth Davis', published in 1857.

[10] In her interviews with Jane Williams, Betsi said she was given a copy of the Bible as a present from Thomas Charles[6] (a Welsh Calvinistic Methodist clergyman), which she later reflected shaped her purpose to her life.

[4] According to Jane Williams biography, Cadwaladr got employment locally as a maid at Plas yn Dre, where she learned housework, to speak English, and to play the triple harp.

[6] Cadwaladr was not happy there, though, and aged 14 she claimed to have escaped through a bedroom window using tied sheets, and left Bala.

In 1820, aged 31, she again returned to Bala, which she now considered 'dull',[11] so she became a maid to a ship's captain and said she travelled for years, visiting such places as South America, Africa and Australia.

At times she performed Shakespeare on board ship, and met such people as William Carey, the missionary, and Bishop Heber, the hymn-writer.

[4] On returning to Britain, she worked at Guy's Hospital for ‘perhaps a year’ around 1850[6] Then at the age of 65[6] she was one of many women who applied to go to the Crimea to nurse the injured.

[9] Conditions in the Crimea eventually took their toll on Cadwaladr's health, as she was ill with cholera and dysentery when she returned to Britain in 1855, a year before the war ended.

[1] She died in 1860, five years after her return, and was buried in the pauper's section of Abney Park Cemetery in north London.

Since 2005 there have been many developments, including the RCN Wales biennial Betsi Cadwaladr Lecture which has been presented by: In 2014 a Western Mail survey of the 50 greatest Welsh people of all time rated Betsi Cadwaladr at 38; this was rated higher than notable individuals such as the singer Tom Jones (39), the actor Anthony Hopkins (46), the songwriter Ivor Novello (44) and sportsmen such as Ryan Giggs (50) and John Charles (48).