Royal Tournament and Festival of Remembrance 1975 By Dot Richie

 

In 1975 I was stationed at the Military Hospital in Colchester as a Theatre Sister. One lunchtime in the dining room, Matron (Lt Col Val Cavey) asked if anyone could do Scottish Country Dancing. I nearly choked on my lunch and shot my hand up as I had done competitive dancing while growing up in Edinburgh. That was the beginning of my road to The Royal Tournament and The Festival of Remembrance. The Tournament was from the 16th July to the 2nd of August.

In early July I went to RAF Stanmore in Middlesex. This was to be my home till the Tournament finished. There I met the rest of the display team and the person in charge. There were 32 of us, all female from the 3 services. we had a team for each service and a mixed team. Each team had a different tartan skirt . The person in charge of the display was Lt Col (Rtd) S Storm , he had come from Scotland to teach us the dance which had been especially arranged for the Tournament. Over the next 2 weeks we learnt the dance. It was very hard work as none of us had danced for years! Col Storm had brought bottles of horse liniment for us to use on our sore calves!!

The week before the start of the Tournament we went to Earls Court to meet the band we were accompanying and to rehearse.The band was The Pipes and Drums of the Australian States Police Forces.. We were given a large room as our dressing room; it had a few chairs and tables but I had to go to the QM to request a lot more that we needed such as mirrors, racks for our costumes and a lot more. The behind the scenes support for the Tournament was the 1st Coldstream Guards. Their QM was very supportive of us and got me all that I needed!

After the week of rehearsals, Col Storm left us and I was left in charge as I was the senior officer. I had to go to the daily briefings and represent the display in the Royal Box to meet the dignitaries after each performance. Because the floor of the arena was earth, it was very difficult to dance on. We were on after the Polo competition so, the poop had to be scooped before we went on but, sometimes some got missed! We then had very smelly ballet shoes when that happened.

After every performance I went with the other officers in charge to be presented in the Royal Box. This was daunting at times but made me feel very proud. The Queen Mother said how difficult it must be to dance on the earth and how well we all did. There were 29 performances. As we were the only females, we were invited to quite a few parties .I eat in the Officers Mess and as it was a Guards Mess it was very grand and I was well looked after .

During the Tournament, I was approached by a member of the Festival of Remembrance planning team to see if I was willing to Choreograph a dance suitable for the Festival. I agreed to do this with trepidation. The Black Watch were stationed in Colchester and they had already agreed to play for the display. I bought some Scottish Country Dance books and went to work. For the 1st half of the dance I chose a reel and the 2nd half a strathspey. I liaised with Allan Dippie the Pipe Major and we decided on the tunes. A week before the Festival I went back to RAF Stanmore this time with the Black Watch Pipes and Drums. There were just 2 teams this time. I had to dance and teach the new dance as I was part of a team. We had one rehearsal at the Albert Hall then 2 performance on the day. All went well on the day and the girls did me proud. At the end of the displays when we were all in the arena and the popppies came down, I couldn't stop crying.

Major(Rtd) Dot Ritchie TD
Reg service 1972-1980
TA service 1980-2003

Two years in Hong Kong and leave relief in Nepal 1977 – 1979 by Pat McKay

I was commissioned into the QARANC on 5 July 1976 and posted to Tidworth Military Hospital, Hants, some three weeks later. Lovely posting, but the hospital was due to close and consequently I was posted to RAF Wroughton until I left in October 1977 for Hong Kong.

I duly reported to RAF Brize Norton on the appointed day and boarded a VC10 for the flight to ‘pastures new’. It was my first experience of flying with the RAF and sitting facing rearwards – much better for you if the aircraft crashed!!!!

I was lucky enough to have a window seat and as the day turned to early evening the aircraft crossed the North African coast and there in the distance but perfectly visible was a very wide strip of ‘green’. It was in fact the Nile Delta and the fields irrigated on either side.

The first stop was somewhere in the Middle East but I am afraid I cannot remember where. As we disembarked, all passengers were given a stern warning not to board the ‘wrong’ aircraft when the flight was called. Apparently, a returning flight from Hong Kong en route to the UK had landed shorty before ours, and in the recent past a passenger had managed to board unnoticed and found to their consternation that they were now flying back to UK and not onward to Hong Kong.

Next stop was Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). We landed in the middle of the night and all the shop keepers in the airport terminal awoke from their various places of slumber and promptly opened their shops in the hope that we may buy something.

The flight arrived in Hong Kong the following morning and the two QA’s aboard were met by Jackie McLaren (now sadly no longer with us) I had met Jackie at Tidworth and followed her to RAF Wroughton and now I followed her to Hong Kong. She whisked us off to the BMH and showed us to our respective rooms with the most fantastic view across the harbour to Hong Kong Island. I had to pinch myself that I was really there. Jackie showed us around the Mess, where to pick up our post and where the dining room was located.

The following morning after a reasonable nights rest off we went to report to Matron (Anne Healy) and learn of our allocated wards. I was to work on Ward 5 ITU/Recovery and the other QA went to the Children’s Ward as she was Paediatric qualified.

The weather in Hong Kong in October is lovely, rather like a beautiful summer day here and at the weekend I joined a group of QA’s and spent the day lazing on the beach and enjoying the sea – I do confess to getting a little sunburned and consequently the skin peeled off my nose.

Life settled into a balance between work, leisure and exploring Hong Kong. After supper it was easy to wander off into one of the numerous night markets and enjoy browsing the stalls and making the odd purchase. Colleagues took you to the hairdresser – Francis and Bambi being where I spent my time in Hong Kong having my hair cut, the tailor, where any style, colour and shape could be accommodated, the linen shop and of course to the jewellery shop. A couple were permitted to visit the Mess and the name Peter Chai springs to mind. Ocean Terminal was also a favourite shopping experience and on one occasion the Canberra and the QE2 were moored on either side of the dock.

The rules concerning the ‘leave scheme’ were explained and my first trip to somewhere ‘exotic’ was to Penang Island – very beautiful and thoroughly enjoyable. I also visited Pattaya Beach in Thailand and upon arrival realized that the US 7th Fleet was on leave!!!! When the US Navy visited Hong Kong the BMH provided any , medical treatment required and it was not uncommon for the Shore Patrol to arrive and ‘collect’ some AWOL sailor and haul him back to the ship. When the Canadian Navy arrived, it was a little more civilized and out came the cocktail dresses off we went to the Captain’s cocktail party. Not quite so civilized was a Mess junk trip one weekend, when Rada Rawat’s sari draped across the rails to dry, was taken by a gust of wind and sank into the depths of Hong Kong harbour never to be seen again.

Transport in Hong Kong was pretty good with cheap fares on the buses that took you to most places including Hong Kong Island, Stanley Market and Aberdeen Harbour where the famous Jumbo Restaurant was moored. A must place to eat, especially if you like fresh sea food. A day trip on the outlying districts ferry to Lantau Island with a picnic lunch was a lovely way to spend a day off, and spending nights off on Stonecutters Island (not open to the public) was a pleasant and inexpensive way of ‘getting away’ from it all. A car was not really necessary but with three other QA’s we purchased a Triumph Herald soft top and named it AJ because of its letters on the registration plate. However, if we decided to take a trip into the countryside and climb Route Twisk, we always had to have at least two empty gin bottles full of water aboard to top up the dodgy radiator. On returning from a lovely Sunday afternoon trip one weekend, I drove down the whole of Nathan Road completely oblivious to the fact that only buses and public light vehicles were permitted!!!! However, my travelling companions entertained the crowds on the pavement by standing up and waving in a very regal manner from the sunroof!!! Quite illegal, but no one stopped us.

At the end of 1978 I was asked by Matron ( Margaret McDermott) if I would like to go to Nepal on leave relief. Needless to say it didn’t take long for me to say yes. Off I went with a midwife named Angela (cannot remember her surname) to Kai Tak airport and discovered that we would be aboard the first flight by Royal Nepal Airlines to fly out of Honk Kong to Kathmandu. There was the crew, pilot, co-pilot and an US engineer, me, Angela and 21,000 pounds of freight for company. What an experience eh?

Upon my return to Hong Kong some 2/3 months later, I asked Matron if I could work in the operating theatre – yes was the reply and I then spent the remainder of my QA career working in various Military Hospital Operating Theatres.

I thoroughly enjoyed the two years I spent in the Far East – never did a stroke of washing or ironing the whole time I was there. Such luxury never experienced again I am sorry to say. Finally learned to swim properly having signed up to adult swimming lessons at the USRC Club just down the road from the BMH, attended an RYA Elementary Sailing Course at Gordon Hard in the New Territories and enjoyed the friendship of other QA’s who were there to enjoy themselves too.

 

 

 

 

 

It's Your History by Wendy H. Jones

 

The vision for this blog when we started it almost a year ago was to capture the history of the Corps of which we are all so proud. It may bot be History Today but it is our history one which should be told. The blog was started to capture the memories of the people who made our Corps what it was, is and will be in the future. The memories of everyone in our corps, from Private to General, and all ranks in between. You may have been in for many years and served in numerous units. I was posted to QATC, QEMH, Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, CMH, BMH Hong Kong, BMH Iserlohn, CMH (again for 8 weeks), St. John's Eye Hospital Jerusalem, DKMH, Bovington Medical Centre, HMS Dolphin/Fort Blockhouse, Defence Nursing School University of Central England, and Portsmouth University. Whilst a tutor, I also had several visits to RAF Akrotiri RNH Gibraltar, as well as visits to numerous units to provide CPD Training. The people I met and the memories I made will never be forgotten. I am sure there are people still alive who served in postings I have never even heard of. You may only have served for a couple of years in one unit but you will still have stories of your time in the Corps.

We really want to capture these memories and to hear your stories. So this is a plea; without your stories it is difficult to publish posts each week. This thought may terrify you but I am more than happy to help you if you don't feel you can write a blog. It needn't be more than five hundred words and it does not need to be polished. What it needs to be is heartfelt and reflective of a slice of your time in the Corps. So, please send me your stories to wendy@wendyhjones.com or even an idea for a story, I can help you develop it if you want me to. No story is too mundane; you may think it uninteresting but, trust me, everyone else will find it fascinating. I'm asking you to take a trip down memory lane, think of all the happy times you had, and then share those with your fellow QAs. Let's show the world what QA's are made of. 

About the author 

Wendy H. Jones served as a Nursing Officer in the QARANC between 1987 and 2004 leaving with the rank of Major. She never went on an operational tour but undertook many exercises as well as serving in numerous units in both the UK and overseas. Hong Kong and Jerusalem had to be two of the highlights. Moving into nurse education, she was proud to have served as Tri-Service Head of Pre-Registration Nurse Education. This brought her full circle to where she started as a student nurse in the QARNNS. She is now an author and lives in Scotland. 

Memories of the Cambridge Military Hospital

 

There cannot have been anyone who served in the QARANC who did not serve at CMH at some point in their career. In fact, in one of our recent Zoom chats at the Jurassic Coast Branch, we seen a pleasant hour talking about our memories of this iconic hospital. Whilst, I cannot share their stories, I can share my own pleasant memories of CMH.

My first trip to CMH, really was a trip - in an ambulance. Having had a rather unfortunate altercation with a chicken bone at lunch (in Woolwich), where the chicken bone won, I was whipped down to the CMH to have it removed. The situation was dealt with promptly but it was felt a night in the Officers Ward was necessary before I was returned fighting fit to my duties on the children's ward at QEMH. This was something else again, nothing like the NHS ward I had spent time in asa teenager. The strangest part was when I was informed, by. rather stern ward sister, I was to have an afternoon nap. This was surprising to say the least as the last time this happened was when I was in nursery. However, like any good Lieutenant, I did exactly as I was told. 

The next time I graced the wards at CHM was on leaving Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital having done my RSCN training and I was posted to the children's ward. What an amazing experience - not only did I meet a lot of fabulous people but the experience I gained as a children's nurse was outstanding. I came across children with rare conditions and came to learn that they and their families lived life to the full despite the challenges the faced. I learnt a lot. Now, who remembers that corridor - yes that corridor, the one that went from Ward 1 where I worked all the way along to the Operating Theatres. I swear the children's ward staff were the fittest in the hospital having run up and down that corridor numerous times a day on operating days; in other words every day. I loved every minute of it. My trip was cut short when I was posted to Hong Kong.

My third posting to CM was sandwiched in between BMH Iserlohn and Jerusalem and I mean sandwiched in. I spent eight weeks of a two year posting there before I was whisked off to Jerusalem for a year. You're probably beginning to think someone at CMH didn't like me, however, as it resulted un me getting exotic postings, I wasn't too worried. I still managed to pack a lot in to those eight weeks. 

So, what of you? I would love to hear your memories of CMH, so share them in the comments. It was certainly a fabulous place. 

About the Writer

 

Wendy H. Jones served as a Nursing Officer in the QARANC between 1987 and 2004 leaving with the rank of Major. She never went on an operational tour but undertook many exercises as well as serving in numerous units in both the UK and overseas. Hong Kong and Jerusalem had to be two of the highlights. Moving into nurse education, she was proud to have served as Tri-Service Head of Pre-Registration Nurse Education. This brought her full circle to where she started as a student nurse in the QARNNS. She is now an author and lives in Scotland.