Memories of HM The Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002 by Judy Evans

2002 wasn’t just an important year for Her Majesty, it was also the Centenary of the QAIMNS/QARANC.

The national celebrations for the Golden Jubilee were to culminate in a parade down The Mall after the Royal Family had attended the National Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul’s Cathedral and lunch at The Guildhall. The procession was to include a march past of military veterans and their standards, as well as decorated floats illustrating British life over the years.

I was a trustee of the QA Association and we had purchased a standard to commemorate our centenary and the Golden Jubilee was the ideal occasion to show it off. I was asked if I would carry it. It was incredibly heavy and marching it down The Mall would be impossible and so it was decided to parade the Aldershot Branch standard instead.

On the day itself, I had arrived in London early to see the parade to St Paul’s Cathedral, and it was the first time I’d seen the Gold State Coach which carried the Queen and Prince Phillip. It was a magnificent sight and was followed by other members of the Royal Family, some on horseback if I recall correctly.

The day was dull but fortunately dry and the plan was that Association standards would march off together, followed by the veterans. There were four QA Association members marching – Lt Cols (Ret’d) Nesbitt, Glover and Jones with Maj (Ret’d) Diana Wilson, Regimental Secretary.







The Queen and Prince Phillip were to be driven down The Mall towards Buckingham Palace in an open topped vehicle and we were to follow. As the parade marched off, I realised how long The Mall is and how heavy even the smaller standard I was carrying was but it was over in a blur. The crowds cheered and what a sense of pride I had in taking part in such a momentous event.

As we approached Queen Victoria’s Statue, I could see The Queen, wearing a bright orange outfit sitting on a dais at the front of the statue with other members of the Royal Family and VIPs.

We turned into Birdcage Walk and came to a halt and fell out. We QAs met up and dashed to see the Queen on the balcony of Buckingham Palace and the RAF fly-past. We managed to push our way through to a reasonable position to the left of the Palace.

It’s very hard to believe that this happened twenty years ago and now we’re celebrating the Platinum Jubilee.


Judy Evans 
Maj (Ret’d)

REFLECTIONS OF A RETIRED QARANC REGIMENTAL SECRETARY By Judy Evans

When I retired from the QAs in 1996 after a twenty-year career, which had been cut short by the changes in the structure of the armed forces, I never in my wildest dream thought that I’d return in a very different role, albeit as a civilian.

I had kept abreast of the Corps as a trustee of the QA Association, in the days when you put your name forward and were voted in by members after an election. Diana Wilson was the General Secretary at the time but indicated that she intended retiring in 2003 after seven years in post. I decided that I would like to apply to take over from her and after thinking I knew what the appointment entailed, I applied, was interviewed and was successful.  My title would be Regimental Secretary QARANC and General Secretary of the QARANC Association.

The four Regimental Headquarters of the AMS were being reorganised and although they remained sovereign, shared support staff, but I was unable to comprehend how diverse my role would be including General Secretary of the Association, Secretary of the Headquarter Officers’ Mess, Secretary of the Dress Committee and ‘Lady-in-Waiting’ to the Colonel Commandant.

When I came into post the Corps was about to change its ward uniform from the traditional dresses and white cap for women to tunic and trousers for both men and women. There was a lot to do to ensure we were on target to change on the date decided.

As Secretary of the Headquarter Officers’ Mess, I had to organise Regimental Dinners and the annual Corps Cocktail Party which was held at the Royal Hospital Chelsea. Luckily one of the Regimental Headquarters’ administrative assistants did a lot in coordinating the guest lists and sending out invitations but it needed close attention to detail.

The role of the Colonel Commandant is to support the Director Army Nursing Services and has a responsibility for the esprit de corps of the QARANC and the morale of its Officers and Servicemen and women. Colonel Iona Leith-Macgregor had been in post for a while and was enthusiastic, enjoying meeting members of the Corps on her official visits. I had to ensure her programme was what she wanted, book all her tickets and, on occasions, accompany her which was a chance for me to see what was going on.

In 2002 HRH The Princess Margaret, our Colonel-in-Chief passed away and the Corps had been advised, by Buckingham Palace, that it was unlikely that another would be appointed in the short term. However, in July 2003, we received notice that HRH The Countess of Wessex would become our new Colonel-in-Chief. A telephone call from her Private Secretary, a retired brigadier, made it clear that my office would be responsible for coordinating our relationship with her staff who included an assistant Private Secretary and administrative assistants. The Colonel Commandant, DANS and I visited, and we discussed how her role could develop and we established an excellent working relationship, and she gave a generous amount of time getting to know us.

Early in 2003, many QAs were deployed to Iraq and although I was not directly involved, as time went on it became clear that Regimental Headquarters would be involved with supporting them. Fortunately, I did not have to organise the repatriation of any casualties as the RAMC Regimental Secretary sadly did. Not long afterwards, we entered Afghanistan.

I saw my major role as being General Secretary of the QA Association. It was a joy getting to know our veterans, chatting to them on the phone or visiting branches. Letters of thanks for gifts which they had been sent for their birthdays or Christmas were wonderful to receive. I realised that the senior officers who had scared me when I was a junior officer had become quite approachable! Sadly, one of my roles was to send flowers on behalf of the Association to funerals – always red flowers and grey foliage such as eucalyptus.

We began to support serving personnel more, contributing to adventure training and sports equipment, thus making the Association more relevant to them.

The Gazette which is published twice a year is an important part of the Association and fortunately I had two excellent editors in Alison Spires and later Dee McElligott.

For all Associations in the Army, benevolence and the support of its retired members is a prime function. Working with SSAFA, the Royal British Legion and other service charities, we are able to make grants to those who have fallen on hard times or who needed some help for children. Small grants can make all the difference although sometimes larger or regular sums are required which the trustees discuss and agree or otherwise. Sometimes more information is required which SSAFA or the Royal British Legion might provide.

I could go on. There were other jobs to do such as maintaining our corps history, liaising with the Director of the Museum of Military Medicine, as it’s now called. The march past of veterans at the Cenotaph on Remembrance Sunday was one highlight of the year but there were many highlights in my seven years. 2007 saw the 60th anniversary of the Association which we celebrated with a garden party in the grounds of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in the presence of the Colonel-in-Chief. We also organised visits to South Africa and Singapore and Malaysia, where several retired QAs could revisit old haunts.

Visit to South Africa

Without doubt I look back at my appointment with great pride. It was a pleasure working with all the DANS and Colonels Commandant who were in post at the same time as I was. Sadly, the administrative support in the reorganised AMS Regimental Headquarters had been gradually eroded and I felt I’d become a one-man band. It was time to retire but what an appointment – perhaps the best in the Corps!

Judy Evans

I served in the QARANC from 1976-96, first as a Midwife, then a Theatre Sister. I also had postings as Instructor for the Student Officer Basic Course at the QATC from 1984-6, Theatre Sister and Matron in the Falkland Islands

Just Do Something - Life in Officer Training at the QARANC by Wendy H. Jones

 

There are some things that are forever imprinted on your mind – my time as an Officer in Training at the QATC is one of those things. To use a well-used phrase, from the wonderful Charles Dickens, ‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'. For me. It was a confusing time.

 

Let me take you back seven years when I joined the QARNNS as a student nurse. Bear with me, this is relevant. They shaped me up and taught me how to march, how to salute and behave like a good sailor on any ship would. The important word here is ship. Saluting - short up, short down, make sure you don’t have your palm showing. No flashing those mucky tar or coal covered hands to royalty. Marching – use as few steps as possible, there’s not much room on a ship. Okay, I’ve got that. I can do this. 

 

Then, I get accepted into a commission in the QARANC. Lieutenant Jones, tuns up bright eyed and bushy tailed at the QATC knowing exactly where she was going with all of this. I can do this. Then, I discovered quite quickly that I really couldn’t do it. Saluting – long up, short down. Marching – multiply the naval count by three. You’ve got loads of room. My body was willing to do what the Army wanted. My brain was saying not on your nelly. Every time I tried to salute, my hand wavered in the air trying to make a decision. This led to our OIC, Major Laura Curwen, saying - on many occasions - Lieutenant Jones, just do something. I think by this point she didn’t care which I did, as long as I completed the salute. She was long suffering indeed. 

 

The QATC did have its high points and its laugh out loud points. Who could ever forget being taught how to open a banana with a knife and fork? For those newer to the corps, I kid you not. I, personally, will never forget Major Curwen’s face as she showed us how to wear our handbag correctly. I wish we’d been allowed to take photos. Anyone who was at the QATC will also remember the one rather fancy toilet decked out for visiting Royalty. At least we weren't painting the coal white for visiting Royalty, which my mother had to do during her time in the WRAC.  

We were asked to put on a review. I wrote a song based on John’s Brown’s Body, all about our time at the QATC and we all sang it together. Here’s a bit of it below.

Now we're in the Army, Major Curwen is our head,

Making sure we're up at dawn we cannot stay abed,

Shaping, moulding, telling us we're now in grey and red,

We're exhausted all the time.

Now we’re in the army Major Quickfall and Captain Field,

Teach us all about the blast, the heat the flash the yield,

Then it’s in the CS gas check respirators sealed,

We’re exhausted all the time.

 

I was destined for a writing career even then and perhaps that is what set me on my future career as an author. Something else to thank the QATC for.  

 

So, on balance, I can say it was the best of times, not the worst of times. I had a blast and it led to 17 years of adventure and personal and career development. I cherish every minute and the friends I made. I wouldn’t change it for the world. 

 

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. 

Why Jurassic Coast? - by Marjorie Bandy and Pat McKay

On the South Coast originally was the Bournemouth Branch which after many years had run its course eventually leading to branch closure. Three of the members who were left, Marjorie, Pat and Dot decided to explore the possibility of forming a new branch. We contacted everyone we know in the area and this contact list was boosted by the enthusiasm of the late Pauline Nowak who seemed to be in contact with everyone! Consequently a “tester” meeting and fish and chips lunch was held at the Lobster Pot besides the Portland Bill lighthouse. We were delighted to welcome 17 ex QA’s including Mary Gardiner and Eveline Duff both well into their 90’s.

At the lunch everyone agreed that it was worth going forward with our plan. The name of the new branch was obvious as we were sitting right on the Jurassic Coast. Pat immediately christened us the Old Fossils!! Pauline came back straight away with Dynamic Dinosaurs. Boosted by this success we applied to RHQ to open a new branch. The inaugural meeting took place on 21st January 2012 at the Red Lion Salisbury. As this was the first new branch in a very long time the then Director Colonel Peter Childerley joined us for lunch.

Our philosophy has always been “you join an association not just a branch” and to that end we have welcomed members from branches across the UK to our various events. We have also welcomed partners and friends to join us on our jollies.

Since the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic the branch has enthusiastically embraced a new kind of drinks party thanks to Zoom, [ we previously thought that this was the first line of a children’s nursery rhyme.] On Saturday evenings we have been enthralled by the variety of adventures that some of our Dynamic Dinosaurs have undertaken. This has led to our perceived need for a Branch BLOG. Few of us keep diaries these days and experiences since the end of WW2 are likely to go unrecorded. This is your platform fellow association members, to record all those seemingly ordinary events during your service, which civilians could not comprehend as “an ordinary day.” We look forward to reading your stories.



Lt Col [Retd] Marjorie Bandy RRC Branch Chairman Served 1975 – 2003

Major [Retd] Pat McKay ARRC Branch Secretary Served 1976 - 1996