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. 

RAF to Army or PMRAFNS to QARANC - Lauren Griffiths

I joined the PMs in 1985 having been advised very strongly by my brother, a WOI, NOT to join the QAs – ‘I’m not having a sister of mine joining that mob!’ Moving on to 1991. I had just completed teacher training at Cardiff University. I’m just getting ready to be posted to RAF (H) Wegberg as the Inservice Training Officer. I’d started packing, ordered my new duty-free car and then STOP! Matron in Chief is on the blower, ‘I need you to go to the Army as they are short of nurse tutors.’ Damn! So, I continued packing, cancelled the car and wrote my posting letter to Col Numbers at CMH Aldershot.

First challenge. I arrived at the CMH Officers Mess late on a Sunday afternoon; couldn’t get in – all entrances locked and no one in the office. Eventually, after circling the building, I managed to catch the attention of one of the nursing officers – I’m in! I was then met by Marion Hart who had been tasked to show me the ropes. As you can imagine I was a fish out of water – an apparition in white in a sea of grey and red! Nowhere to hide – something to be gawped at!

I joined the School of Nursing as a junior nurse teacher and the only non-QA member of staff. My role covered teaching pre-reg on two sites, CMH and QEMH. Fairly early on in my posting I caused a bit of a stir at QEMH when I was summoned to Matron’s office! She wanted to know who this Australian Officer was who was wandering around the Hospital in a white ward dress. Probably not the best start at QEMH!

Back at Aldershot I soon integrated with my Army colleagues, however, there was a line that I had to draw. I’m Airforce and we don’t do running. we don’t do circuits and we don’t do guns! Wrong! I’m with the Army now.

My nemesis – Cpl Holmes, Army Physical Training Corp, yep, Kelly Holmes of Olympic fame. Our new CO decided that we were all to do physical training weekly, no excuses. So, off I went, with Marion Hart, Lynn Adam and some of the students for our weekly session. A beasting doesn’t even cover it. The next day I couldn’t put my long hair up into a bun – Lynn had to do that for me – I thought I would never regain the use of my arms again. On the plus side my fitness improved and I did manage to evade annual fitness tests for my complete tour, although Merrill cottoned on to this – she was going out with an RAF Officer who told her that we did do running and we did do circuits. Thankfully she only found that out at the end of my tour.

I shared an office at CMH with Gary Searle. One sunny afternoon we were in the office and unbeknown to me the RMP were training their dogs to disarm someone with a gun – this was happening just outside our window. I heard a shot and I hit the deck. Gary looked quite amused as he watched me disappear under my desk. Obviously, a new experience in this Army environment.

My role evolved and I became engaged in the wider pre-registration and conversion training. This took me to more Army and some RAF sites. It was good to be engaged across the two services and to use my skills to enable nurses to develop and qualify. I found myself drawn closer to the Army and identified more and more with the Corps. However, Col Numbers’ efforts to draw me even deeper and transfer to the QARANC failed despite various offers to tempt me. My brothers warning still rang clearly in my brain!

I thoroughly enjoyed my two years at CMH and was rather sad to leave the School, colleagues and newly found friends to return to RAF (H) Wroughton. I found it hard going back to the PMs and never really settled. Two years later we all ended up working at the Royal Defence Medical College at HMS Dolphin, later Fort Blockhouse – reunited once more with my Army colleagues and friends. A new chapter in Defence Medical training had begun.