A Life in the Armed Forces (QARANC and QARNNS) by Wendy H. Jones

 

As Today is Armed Forces Day, I would like to start by saluting all those in the Armed Forces - Past and Present - for your service. Of course as this is a QARANC blog a particular shoutout to all those in the QARANC. I also thought it would be an ideal opportunity to reminisce about my time in the services. 

I beg your indulgence as I start by talking about my six years in the QARNNS as a student nurse and a staff nurse. In May 1979 I was posted to RNH Haslar in Gosport to undertake my student nurse training and thus started a career that would also twenty-three years. I  had a blast in the Navy. During my time I managed to go up in helicopter, was dropped off in the middle of a field, and was then winched up into the helicopter again. What a blast. Whilst I served my six years at Haslar, I did manage to do ten weeks at RAF Wegberg doing both the midwifery and community parts of my training. I went into Holland each day as we visited families in married quarters which were in The Netherlands rather than Germany. Yet again, a helicopter featured as we were taken up in an RAF helicopter and, as it was for pilot training, I was allowed to pilot it. What an experience. MY only sea time was one day at sea on HMS Invincible where I ran a creche for Families Day. Oh, and I go to launch a ship - HMS Glasgow. I kid you not.

I left the RN after six years, did a course in civvy street, and then joined the QARANC with a stint at the Queen Alexandra's Training Centre in Aldershot before being posted to Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital Woolwich. During this time I was on standby for 22 Field Hospital and went on Exercise Purple Warrior. This was a Tri-Service operation, hence the purple. It was a mixture of all three colours - navy, free, and blue. This took place in November. In Scotland. In the rain. I will leave the rest to your imagination. It also involved eight days on a cruise ship which was a fabulous experience. And you can see, various modes of transport played a large part in my nursing life. In fact, I got my third trip in a helicopter whilst on exercise with 22 Field. This time an Army helicopter used for transporting casualties. I can tell you, those pods they transport casualties in are an experience - one I am glad I had. From Woolwich I was seconded to Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital to do my children's nursing and from there to Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot. Eight months later I found myself in Hong Kong which had to be one of my favourite places to live. Vibrant and exhilarating it's like no other place on earth. Working on the children's ward, it was a privilege to look after both Nepalese and Chinese children and to meet their families. Ambulances figured quite a bit as we would transfer seriously ill children to ITU in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, a civilian Chinese hospital. Whilst in Hong Kong I took the opportunity to learn Nepalese and Chinese all of which I have now forgotten. Oh, and did I mention, I got to go up in a helicopter. The father of one of the children on the ward was Army Air Corps and ran trips for the staff to see Hong Kong from the air. Awesome.

From Hong Kong I went to BMH Iserlohn in Germany. No helicopters this time but I did have to serve on a courts martial. That was a strange experience but it was part of my remit as an officer. The end of my posting in Germany found me back in Aldershot. For eight weeks. Yes, you've got that right, eight weeks. Then I, on a newly minted special regular commission, found myself in Jerusalem on loan to the St. John of Jerusalem organisation. I loved every minute of that. From Jerusalem I went to Duchess of Kent Military Hospital in Catteritck, starting on the Children's ward and ending up as the In Service Training Officer. I spent six months at Bovington Camp as Matron of the medical centre, then back to my role as ISTO in Catterick before moving into the Royal Defence Medical College in Gosport. I was right back where I started in the School of Nursing but this time tri-service and partnering with Portsmouth University. During my time I was sent to both Cyprus and Gibraltar to carry out training, went back to Israel for eight weeks to update my ophthalmic and paediatric certificates, and was given time to do charity work in Moldova for two weeks. I also went to the Brecon Beacons to do some training. That was an experience and I may write a full post about it in the future. A posting to Birmingham saw me setting up the Military Pre-Registration Nurse Education at the University of Central England (now Birmingham City University) and brought my career to a close. 

I loved every minute of my time in the services. It was twenty-three years of fun, friendship and hard work, and I don't regret a minute of it. The people I met, and the places I went, will stay with me forever. What about you, where were you posted? I would love to know. 

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. 

QAs Serving on a Submarine! By Merrill Bate

Defence Costs Study 15, led to the closure of all but one military hospital and the creation of agencies to manage secondary and dental care, and medical training. The Army Medical Services Schools of Nursing was to be no more, but I and my colleagues were determined that the high standards and quality of the pre- and post-registration nurse training we had provided over many decades would be carried on by the Tri-Service School of Healthcare Studies. 

So, it was that with a heavy heart that on 29th March 1996 I closed the door to the School of Nursing at the Cambridge Military Hospital in Aldershot and headed off with my colleagues to HMS Dolphin. ‘Dolphin’ was the home of the Royal Navy Submarine Service and location of the Submarine School and from 1996 to 1999 hosted the Defence Medical Training Organisation, the agency which was to manage all healthcare education. 

Along with QARNNS and PMRAFNS nurse teachers we had made many trips to prepare for our arrival at Dolphin. I recall in a conversation about office equipment saying that we would need ‘9’ lines in order to be able to make phone calls to civilian numbers. Imagine my surprise on walking into our office to find 9 telephones on my desk! What I hadn’t realised was that in the Navy they dialled ‘0’ to get an outside line, in the Army we dialled ‘9’!

Terminology was something we had to get used to, e.g. a call to 'clear the lower decks' means everyone was to be addressed by a senior officer while the 'upper deck' referred to officers only. The call was announced by a 'pipe' that could be heard everywhere at Dolphin.

On my first day at Dolphin, I arrived at 0730 and after clearing security I noticed other cars had stopped by the side of the road, there was no obvious reason why, but something told me it would be a good idea to stop my car as well. I am glad I did because what was about to happen was 'colours'; everyone is expected to face the mast while the white ensign is raised and if driving a car, you stop! Only when pipe sounds can you drive on. Phew, I had avoided making a faux pas on my first day! 

This picture shows where the Nurse Teachers were located before we moved to our permanent building. Our offices were surrounded by water and provided the best view of the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. The office I shared with QARNNS and PMRAFNS colleagues had a window that looked straight out to sea and my desk was right beside it. It was quite easy to get distracted by the ferries sailing into Portsmouth, they looked as if were heading straight for us and then at the last minute changed tack! 

On 10 June 1996 we were working in the office when there was a very loud bang, in fact 21 very loud bangs which caused the building to shake and the smell of cordite came through the windows. Were we under attack? No, our offices were located very close to the area where the Royal Navy were firing a 21-gun salute in honour of the Queen’s Birthday!









Being at Dolphin provided us with a bird’s eye view of some special and historical events. One memory is standing on the roof of one of the buildings with Lauren Hurst and Yvette Whiston. We were watching the Royal Yacht Britannia leave Portsmouth for the last time. As she sailed past us, we stood to attention and saluted. This felt the right thing to do. 

We certainly made good use of the lovely seafront position. This picture is of the Wardroom. During the summer the officers would have a sandwich lunch on the terrace overlooking the Solent and the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour. A great place to watch as Royal Navy ships and ferries heading to and from France, Spain and the Isle of Wight passed by us.






A landmark building was the S.E.T.T (Submarine Escape Training Tower). Since the first man ascended the 100ft column of water to simulate emerging from a sunken submarine, tens of thousands of submariners have made the ascent along with a QA Officer’s forage cap!



On my last day before retiring from the Army I was invited to visit the S.E.T.T. On arrival I left my forage cap in the cloakroom and made my way along with the Medical Officer and the ‘rescue team’ to the top of the tower to watch an ascent. It was strange that the surface was on the 10th Floor of the tower while the bottom was at ground level.

I was told that numerous training sessions are required before submariners develop tolerance, confidence and learn not to respond to the instinct to panic. For beginners it must be reassuring to know that there were observation ports so instructors could monitor their progress as they ascended the 100ft and, escape compartments at 9 and 18 metres depth.

It seemed an age before the diver reached the surface and I think for much of that time I was holding my breath! The diver on climbing out of the water stood to attention in front of me saluted and said “Ma’am I believe this might be yours” and promptly removed my forage cap from his diving suit. My forage cap did not survive its 100-foot journey from the bottom of the tank to the top having been subjected to a pressurised slow ascent – thank goodness I would not be needing it to wear it again!



Lt Col (Retd) Merrill Bate served at the Tri-Service School of Healthcare Studies and Royal Defence Medical College from 1996 to 2002.

In 1999 HMS Dolphin reverted to its original name Fort Blockhouse when the RN Submarine School relocated to Faslane. In 2020 it was announced that S.E.T.T would close and be preserved as a listed building.

A Posting to the Caribbean - Belize by Marjorie Bandy

In 1981 I became aware of an additional posting for QA’s. I fancy a tour in the Caribbean thought as I sat at my desk in Catterick on a wet and windy winter morning. I mentioned it in passing to Col Braisby during a telephone call. “Ask me in writing,” was the reply; success. By April of that year I found myself at Brize Norton for the Monday flight to Belize. I was only the second QA to go there and at the time it was a 'sensitive' posting which had required me to go to HQUKLF for an interview with Colonel Liddington. I was given the brief and instructions that I was required to send her a monthly report – but sent as a personal letter on a “bluey!!” I could explain but I would then have to shoot you.

For those of you who have never been to Belize it is in the Caribbean very close to Mexico and Guatemala and Airport Camp is built on a mosquito swamp. For most of my tour, I was the only female, on occasions being joined by a female dentist. It sounds marvellous the only female in a camp of 2000 men, not so, it can be very lonely, and very much like living in a glass box where you are always on show. Absolutely everyone knew who I was ie Matron, which meant that even going into the NAAFI it was far from unusual to be stopped for a medical consultation with one of said 2000 male personnel.

The Officers Mess were on the whole good fun and I was included in trips into Belize City if there was something different going on. One Saturday night we had been informed that there was going to be a good disco in one of the downtown hotels. Dancing shoes on I joined with some of the other mess members and headed into town. The rumour was right, and we were having a great evening and it was good to use the dancing shoes. One thing in Belize is that sadly employment opportunities for women were not easy and far too many belonged to the “oldest profession.” As I was practicing my Olivia Newton John moves on the dance floor I felt a tap on the shoulder and a voice said,  “How much do you charge?” I turned round to see what could only have been a member of HM Forces. As I have already said absolutely everyone knew who Matron was and the poor young man’s face dropped. My reply? “Go away young man you can’t afford me.” The poor chap must have spent the rest of his tour praying that he never took sick. The rest of the guys couldn’t wait to get back to camp to make sure that everyone knew that I had been mistaken for a Lady of the Night.

It was in other ways a posting of different experiences; Belize gained its independence during that year. As Guatemala and Belize didn’t enjoy a friendly relationship at the time, I had an additional supply of morphine flown out on the same flight as Prince and Princess Michael of Kent. Luckily although the resident battalion moved to their “battle stations” all was quiet on the Western Front.

At that time Belize was not a popular holiday destination and apart from the three military flights a month there were no direct flights from UK. I was able to get away for some weekends and fell in love with New Orleans, a place I headed for whenever I needed my hair cutting. Honduras and Costa Rica were also on my visiting list. All great opportunities so what was the point of saving money and only getting as far as the camp swimming pool or the Sunday Mess BBQ on one of the small islands known as Cayes. Although I enjoy swimming only my snorkelling improved, and I really didn’t fancy diving. I did make use of the mess ski boat, but water skis will never replace my snow skis.

There are lots of stories about Belize but this is only a blog and not a book. I will save the story of almost getting shot by the SAS – purely through my own stupidity - for a later date.



Marjorie Bandy

Chairman Jurassic Coast Branch

 

From Dream to Major by Sara Russell

From as early as I can remember I used to listen to stories from my father of his experiences in the military; his postings, training, operations, the decorations he was awarded and all the adventures that had bought him such pride and happiness during his time in uniform. He would fill me with admiration and curiosity hearing about the opportunities he had been given and I quickly realised I wanted to follow his footsteps. The older I got the more adamant I became to pursue this dream and whilst many thought this would be a passing phase, upon leaving school I presented at the careers office to start the enlistment process. After meeting with the recruitment staff and discussing my career choices I had concretely decided I wanted to join the QARANC as a nurse. Much effort went into trying to persuade me to join another Regiment/Corps however after my long-standing stubbornness I was advised to go to college and come back when I was 17.5 years old when I would be old enough to start nurse training. By this time sadly the Army were no longer training nurses so with a heavy heart I had to start thinking about what other career options were available to me. However, just five months later, and at the time I was finishing my last year of college as if by fate the Army had recommenced nurse training. Following several months of tests and interviews I finally swore my Oath of Allegiance and was given date to a parade for my first day in uniform. My dream had finally come true.

I started my career at ATR Lichfield in 1999 where I completed Basic Training. I still remember the feelings of anxiety and fear as I entered the camp, but I was confident I had still made the right choice and could not wait to get started. Basic training was extremely challenging both physically and mentally but the skills I learnt, qualities I developed and friends I made, made every day worth it. No aspect of the training came easy to me so my pride as I passed out of Basic Training 14 weeks later before moving to the South to read Nursing at Portsmouth University was more than I could have ever imagined. I felt alive and as if I had conquered the world.

It was then onto the next chapter which presented with its own set of challenges and were very different from those I had just endured. The preconceived challenges of University and the academic demands were very real and posed some difficulties for me however the placements balanced this as I found these really valuable and were where I truly learnt about the job and affirmed this was the right profession for me. What I had not considered was how difficult it would be being so far from home for such long periods. At times I did find this difficult despite having dreamt of this for so many years but with routine, familiarity. and support from new friends I soon started to settle, my enthusiasm for my chosen future realigned and life was becoming very fruitful. During these first few years little did I know I had already met my best friend, future husband and my children’s Godparents.

Not many months after qualifying as a nurse I was detached to 34 field hospital and deployed to Iraq on OP Telic 1. Whilst there were some emotional times out there, I once again felt fulfilled and alive being employed in an operational environment which I believed was definition of Army nursing. I was home no more that 6 weeks before returning to Iraq on OP Telic 2 with 33 field hospital for a further 3 months. This tour allowed me to consolidate my nursing and operational experience and fully immerse myself into my work and start proving my management and leadership skills. During this tour I quickly realised my interests to Commission and began casually enquiring about my potential and the process. Upon my return to the UK in late 2003 the wheels were set in motion and work towards improving my profile to Commission started. This process took several years and before I went through Officer selection, I volunteered for a tour of Bosnia to give me more operational experience but also to provide me with the time and support from skilled staff in to prepare me for board.

The commissioning process was intense but well worth it when I was informed of my success and given a date to attend Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. I learnt so much during this phase of my career and feel this was the real start to my opportunities widening. After I commissioned, I had a short spell in Catterick before another tour of Iraq on Op Telic 9A where I again I was able to consolidate the skills I had learnt on my Commissioning course whilst continuing to enhance the qualities required to be an effective leader.

I remember not long after my return from this tour reflecting and thinking just how amazing my career had been thus far but also wondering what else there was left for me other than promotion and postings. I felt I had flown so quickly down my chosen career path but worried I might have reached a lull. But again, as if it was fate, I heard that my application to start my Degree in Mental Health Nursing had been approved. This was when I left the world of General Nursing.

In 2007-2008 I completed my conversion course at University of Hull and was quickly posted to the Department of Community Mental Health (DCMH) in Aldershot. I later saw postings to DCMH Donnington, DCMH Colchester and DCMH Cranwell. My time as RN (MH) was probably the most fulfilling. It took me outside of my comfort zone, developing my management and leadership skills with a steep learning curve but along the way and true to the military I met some amazing people and have many fond memories.

I finished my career in 2017 having served 18 years to the day. I started as a Private soldier and retired as a Major and earned a Dip (HE) Nursing (Adult) and BSc (hons) Nursing (Mental Health) and whilst non certificated a depth of experience in management and leadership. The military gave me opportunities and experiences many only read about in a book and ones I know I would never have experienced if I had ventured down other avenues of employment. If I said I enjoyed every minute of my service life I would not be being honest but those times were greatly outweighed by all the good times and I will always look back with pride and fondness having served in the British Army…..and to add to the fairy tale, along the way I married my husband (a fellow QARANC) and now have two amazing children (now aged 10 and 5 years old)

I can safely say that I know of at least one little girl who got her dreams.

Gulf War 1 - A Quickie Wedding - by Jan Westbury

In December 1990 I was stationed with 33 Field Hospital in Al Jubail, Saudi Arabia, as the nursing officer in charge of the tented low dependency ward. Matron selected me to return to the UK for a few days to speak to the reinforcements, together with a major whose wife was about to give birth, to prepare the troops for their deployment. I had not wanted to leave my team, but there was not a choice! However, off I went. We flew back as just two passengers on a British Airways jumbo jet, with seats in First Class to ourselves, but without the perks.

I arrived in the UK late on 30 December, to be joined by my fiancée on New Year's Eve, where he had organised leave from his army post in Germany. This was not easy, as he was on duty over Christmas and New Year and had to find someone to cover. It was a difficult time for him as he was one of the few husbands not deployed. How times have changed.

To my surprise he had arranged for us to be married, but I couldn’t, as I was speaking to the troops in Chester on the planned day! Being the determined man he is, he managed to arrange for the registrar to marry us on his day off and before the civic offices officially opened.

I bought a black wedding dress in Swindon, as we were driving past on our way to Cheltenham. Unusual colour, but as it went with my QA handbag and shoes, perfect. However, the black handbag was not needed as a close friend had arranged a beautiful bouquet with just a day’s notice.

On a cold January morning we arrived with close friends to find the civic offices closed and my fiancée panicking. Of course, we were very early. All was well and we were married.

We had a wedding breakfast with three friends and their young children at the beautiful Corse Lawn Country hotel, where we had our one-night honeymoon. The children had made me a beautiful white iced sponge wedding cake, with pretty pink writing and decoration.

I bought two wedding cakes from Marks and Spencer’s, as there was just time to pop in and tell my parents and celebrate before returning to active service, with the other wedding cake for my fellow officers and ward staff.

The CO and Matron were at the airport in Saudi to greet us and all the new arrivals. I was as happy as can be as a newlywed until Matron took me to one side and asked if it was correct I had married? My heart then skipped a beat when he commented, with a very grave face, that I had not sought his permission. For a moment I wondered if my marriage was going to be null and void! After seeing the horror on my face, he smiled and congratulated me and said how the news had cheered everyone up. However, the RSM was very disappointed I had married a xxxxxx. I couldn't possibly write the nickname used for the Royal Military Police.

Everyone seemed so happy for me and it added to my happiness. My prayers at our Sunday service always included a plea to return home safely and have some married life.

Unfortunately, my army career was cut short. The priority for me was to be with my husband in Germany, but the reality in those days was that Matron was unable to offer me a posting and definitely not at Wegberg, as that was the RAF. I could have led the way.

Nearly 30 years married now and depending on Covid 19 restrictions we are hoping to return to Corse Lawn Country Hotel for our anniversary. It is still owned by the same family and continues to have wonderful reviews.


Former Capt. Jan Westbury TA, Regular Service and Reserve 1987-1997.