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. 

ALL AT SEA IN HONG KONG - By Judy Evans

I was posted to the British Military Hospital, Hong Kong in September 1976 as a midwife. To say that I was a reluctant midwife would be an understatement so when I was summonsed to Matron’s office during my nights off about six months after my arrival, I was surprised and a bit worried about what she wanted to say to me. In fact, she made my day as she asked me to go on detachment to HMS Tamar to work in the Families’ Medical Centre.

HMS Tamar was undergoing a huge redevelopment so the Medical Centre was temporarily housed in Victoria Barracks, Headquarters British Forces, just up the road from Tamar on Hong Kong Island. I was to go over to the barracks the next day to meet the other staff before packing up my room in the mess and moving across the harbour to my new home for the next six months.

The British Forces Medical and Dental Services on Hong Kong Island were largely the responsibility of the Royal Navy (RN) with civilian support. There were three or four medical officers who worked as GPs. The practice manager was a RN Chief Petty Officer with locally enlisted medical assistants to run the pharmacy and treatment room. Nursing support was provided by a Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) sister, a Chinese sister and a QARANC officer. Next to the medical centre was the dental centre and a SSAFA health visitor completed the team.

The nursing staff’s role was to care for the wives of the servicemen, both Army and Navy living on Hong Kong Island and also the female service personnel posted to the Island. We also looked after UK civil servants. We held family planning and ante-natal clinics, vaccination clinics and worked in the treatment room as required. I was also told that a lot of the wives, being very young and away from their family network in the UK, needed support and just popped in for a chat and advice. This they did very regularly, and it was good to feel that we were making a difference and helping. Their husbands were often either at sea if they were in the RN or on exercise in the New Territories if they were in the Army.

 

I assumed that I would be living in single officers’ accommodation – the Wardroom in naval parlance but as there was none available for females, I was to share a hiring with the QARNNS sister and Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) officer who worked in HQBF. Transport would be provided to and from the Barracks as it was situated a few miles away, on the west side of the Island. The moment I saw it, I was blown away and recently saw that the one we actually lived in was on the market for the equivalent of £4m (2020 prices). There was a balcony with a view over to Lamma Island and facing west, the sunset each evening was amazing. We had an amah who came in five or six days a week to clean and do our laundry.

I was welcomed into the fold, made friends and enjoyed the busy social life of HMS Tamar.

There were regular events held in the Wardroom ranging from film nights to drinks parties and mess dinners and on Sundays, there were trips on a banyan boat - a naval launch, often to one of the outlying islands where we could swim and barbecue.

I was expecting to return to the BMH after six months but when I was asked to go for an interview with Matron, she told me that she wanted me to stay on for a further six months and in the end I stayed for eighteen months, until I came home in September 1978.

At that time there were no female officers or servicewomen serving on board ships, of which there were four patrol craft in Hong Kong. They were converted minesweepers with their main role being to search for illegal immigrants from China. We were allowed to go on board for family sea days and it was on one of these that I was transferred at speed from HMS Monkton to HMS Beachampton via jackstay – a jolly exciting experience!

On the last Sunday of my posting in Hong Kong, I went on the usual day out on the ‘banyan’. We went out to the west and on our return, at the entrance to the harbour, the banyan master asked if I’d like to probably be the first QARANC officer to take a RN vessel up the harbour and berth it at HMS Tamar. Of course I did, and so ended a wonderful tour but I was soon to have my comeuppance with a posting to DKMH, Catterick which was a bit of a shock after cosmopolitan Hong Kong.

Judy Evans

Note: It was during my time working with the Senior Service in 1977, that the QARNNS became fully affiliated to the RN and its personnel subject to the Naval Discipline Act. It wasn’t until 1995 that officers and ratings began to hold naval rank as opposed to QARNNS rank. That is why I have referred to my QARNNS colleague as ‘sister’ rather than ‘officer’.

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.

REMEMBRANCE SERVICE - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTHCARE EDUCATION

During the year where everything has been cancelled or put on hold, DHE were determined to still go ahead with Remembrance Day commemorations by holding a virtual event for both the Chain of Command and Tri-service Nursing students across three years of training.

After an opening address by the OC DHE Major Burden, a recording was played from three retired QARANC nursing officers – Lt Col M Bate, Major K Foster and Captain J Westbury. They highlighted the vital role of military nurses during the Gulf War and the trials they faced caring for such a vast multitude of patients while also sharing their own personal views on events during the war. I believe this also provided a reflection for nursing students on how medicine has advanced so rapidly upon viewing the pictures that were shown to us and the stories which were shared.

There were also recordings from two past QARNNS nurses, R Webb and PONN J Nicholls who shared their own personal experiences from working as Naval nurses, their journeys in their military careers and, also their careers within the NHS after leaving the Royal Navy. This gave an insight to the opportunities available to military nurses during their careers with many opportunities for specialisms and motivation to those still in training.

At 11am, the last post was sounded and a two minutes silence was observed in order to remember those who have served and lost their lives in giving the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms both during the First and Second World Wars and also more recent conflicts.

Several nursing students including myself also shared personal accounts of what Remembrance Day meant for us, with some students sharing pictures of them at military events and other in their clinical uniforms. Cpl Bushnell-Shilling also gave an insightful piece of the history of the poppy and its significance during Remembrance Day Commemorations.

It was a real joy to see the number of nursing students across the British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy who were so willing to get involved in this event making it a Remembrance Day to remember in a year when the impact of COVID-19 has compromised so many events.



AB Leah B Badger Student Nurse QARNNS