Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
Encyclopedia
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; commonly known as the QAs) is the nursing
branch of the British Army
and part of the Army Medical Services
.
In 1902, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) was established by Royal Warrant
, and was named after Queen Alexandra
, who became its President. It replaced the Army Nursing Service, which had been established in 1881, and which from 1889 provided Sisters for all Army hospitals with at least 100 beds. In 1949, the QAIMNS became a corps
in the British Army and was renamed as the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. Since 1950 the organisation has trained nurses, and in 1992 men were allowed to join.
The associated Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps Association is a registered charity. Queen Alexandra was President until her death in 1925. The following year she was succeeded by Queen Mary
.
was renamed the Territorial Army. It existed until 1949, when it became the Territorial Army branch of QARANC.
From 30 May 1941 QAIMNS personnel were granted emergency commissions and wore rank insignia corresponding to their equivalent Army rank.
The TFNS/TANS ranking system was identical.
On 1 February 1949 the women's forces were integrated into the armed forces. Initially, QARANC, along with the Women's Royal Army Corps
, adopted the old Auxiliary Territorial Service ranking system, with the Matron-in-Chief holding the rank of Senior Controller, but in 1950 both corps switched to ordinary Army ranks. Professional titles were still used on the wards.
Other Ranks
were introduced in 1956.
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
branch of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and part of the Army Medical Services
Army Medical Services
The Army Medical Services is the organisation responsible for administering the four separate corps that deliver medical, veterinary, dental and nursing services in the British Army...
.
In 1902, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) was established by Royal Warrant
Royal Warrant
Royal warrants of appointment have been issued for centuries to those who supply goods or services to a royal court or certain royal personages. The warrant enables the supplier to advertise the fact that they supply to the royal family, so lending prestige to the supplier...
, and was named after Queen Alexandra
Alexandra of Denmark
Alexandra of Denmark was the wife of Edward VII of the United Kingdom...
, who became its President. It replaced the Army Nursing Service, which had been established in 1881, and which from 1889 provided Sisters for all Army hospitals with at least 100 beds. In 1949, the QAIMNS became a corps
Corps
A corps is either a large formation, or an administrative grouping of troops within an armed force with a common function such as Artillery or Signals representing an arm of service...
in the British Army and was renamed as the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps. Since 1950 the organisation has trained nurses, and in 1992 men were allowed to join.
The associated Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps Association is a registered charity. Queen Alexandra was President until her death in 1925. The following year she was succeeded by Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
.
Territorial Army Nursing Service
The Territorial Force Nursing Service (TFNS) was established in 1909 as a sister organisation to the QAIMNS. Its purpose was to supplement the regular service in emergencies and all its members worked as nurses in civilian life. It was renamed the Territorial Army Nursing Service (TANS) in 1920, when the Territorial ForceTerritorial Force
The Territorial Force was the volunteer reserve component of the British Army from 1908 to 1920, when it became the Territorial Army.-Origins:...
was renamed the Territorial Army. It existed until 1949, when it became the Territorial Army branch of QARANC.
Ranks
The initial ranking system used by the QAIMNS was as follows.| QAIMNS rank | Equivalent Army rank (from 1941) |
| Staff Nurse | |
| Sister | Lieutenant Lieutenant A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank... |
| Senior Sister | Captain Captain (British Army and Royal Marines) Captain is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above Lieutenant and below Major and has a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a Flight Lieutenant in the Royal Air Force... |
| Matron | Major Major Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ... |
| Principal Matron | Lieutenant-Colonel |
| Chief Principal Matron | Colonel Colonel Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures... |
| Matron-in-Chief | Brigadier Brigadier Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general.... |
From 30 May 1941 QAIMNS personnel were granted emergency commissions and wore rank insignia corresponding to their equivalent Army rank.
The TFNS/TANS ranking system was identical.
On 1 February 1949 the women's forces were integrated into the armed forces. Initially, QARANC, along with the Women's Royal Army Corps
Women's Royal Army Corps
The Women's Royal Army Corps was the corps to which all women in the British Army except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains and nurses belonged from 1949 to 1992.-History:The...
, adopted the old Auxiliary Territorial Service ranking system, with the Matron-in-Chief holding the rank of Senior Controller, but in 1950 both corps switched to ordinary Army ranks. Professional titles were still used on the wards.
Other Ranks
Other Ranks
Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...
were introduced in 1956.
List of Matrons-in-Chief QAIMNS/QARANC
- Dame Sidney BrowneSidney BrowneDame Sidney Jane Browne, GBE, RRC was the first appointed Matron-in-Chief of the newly formed Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service....
, 1902 – 1906 - Caroline KeerCaroline KeerCaroline Keer, RRC & Bar was a British military nurse and nursing administrator, who served in Natal during the Boer War....
, 1906 – 1910 - Dame Ethel Becher, 1910 – 1919
- Dame Maud McCarthyMaud McCarthyDame Emma Maud McCarthy, GBE, RRC was a nursing sister and army Matron-in-Chief. She was the eldest child of William Frederick McCarthy, a solicitor, and his Sydney-born wife, Emma Mary à Beckett...
, 1914 – 1919 - Dame Sarah OramSarah OramDame Sarah Elizabeth Oram, DBE, RRC was Principal Matron, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force and Senior member of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service , serving as Matron-in-Chief from 1915-1919 ....
, 1915 – 1919 - Dame Anne Beadsmore Smith, 1919 – 1924
- Florence Hodgins, 1924 – 1928
- Rosabelle OsborneRosabelle OsborneRosabelle Osborne, CBE, RRC was Principal Matron at the British War Office, 1924. She advanced and served as Matron-in-Chief at the QAIMNS from 1 April 1928 until 1930....
, 1928 – 1930 - Marguerite Medforth, 1930 – 1934
- Daisy Martin, 1934 – 1938
- Catherine RoyCatherine RoyCatherine Murray Roy, CBE, RRC, MM was a Scottish military nurse during World War I. She was the daughter of John Roy, minister of the parish of Drymen, and trained at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow, before joining the regular army as a staff nurse in 1909. She was one of the first 50 British...
, 1938 – 1940 - Dame Katharine JonesKatharine JonesDame Katharine Henrietta Jones, DBE, RRC and Bar was Matron in Chief of the QAIMNS for most of the Second World War, serving from 23 July 1940-44....
, 1940 – 1944 - Dame Louisa WilkinsonLouisa WilkinsonDame Louisa Jane Wilkinson, DBE, RRC was Matron-in-Chief of the QAIMNS/QARANC. She joined the QAIMNS Reserves in August 1914. She was briefly married in 1917 but her husband was killed on active duty during World War I....
, 1944 – 1946 - Lilian Hunnings, 1946 – 1948
- Brigadier Dame Anne ThomsonAnne ThomsonBrigadier Dame Anne Thomson, DBE, RRC was a British nursing sister, matron and administrator.She served as:Anne Thomson was the first QAIMNS Nursing Officer ever to reach the rank of Brigadier in the British Army, which she did in 1950. Four years later, she was named a Colonel Commandant of the...
, 1948 – 1952 - Brigadier Dame Helen GillespieHelen GillespieBrigadier Dame Helen Shiels Gillespie, DBE, RRC, QHNS was a British nursing matron during World War II.From 1952 until her retirement on 31 July 1956 on completion of her term, Gillespie served as Matron-in-Chief of Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps...
, 1952 – 1956 - Brigadier Dame Monica GoldingMonica GoldingBrigadier Dame Cecilie Monica Johnson Golding, DBE was a British Army nurse, who rose to Colonel Commandant, Matron-in-Chief and Director of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps ....
, 1956 – 1960 - Brigadier Dame Barbara CozensBarbara CozensBrigadier Dame Florence Barbara Cozens, DBE, RRC, DOStJ was a Darjeeling-born British nurse and nursing administrator....
, 1960 – 1964 - Brigadier Dame Margot Turner, 1964 – 1968
- Brigadier Barbara Gordon, 1968 – 1973
- Brigadier Helen CattanachHelen CattanachBrigadier Helen S. Cattanach, CB, RRC was Director of British Army Nursing Services and Matron-in-Chief of QARANC...
, 1973 – 1977 - Brigadier Joan MoriartyJoan MoriartyBrigadier Joan Olivia Elsie Moriarty was a nursing sister who became Matron-in-Chief/Director of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps from 1977 to 1981.-References:...
, 1977 – 1981 - Brigadier Vera Rooke, 1981 – 1984
- Brigadier Rita Hennessy, 1985 – 1989
- Brigadier Jill Field, 1989 – 1992
- Brigadier Hilary Dixon-Nuttall, 1992 – 1995
- Brigadier Jane Arigho, 1995 – 1999
- Colonel Bridget McEvillyBridget McEvillyBridget Christina McEvilly, CBE is a Colonel Commandant of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps .-Background:Born in Middlesex, McEvilly was initially commissioned to the QARANC in 1977, having previously been a nurse in hospitals in, among other places, Canada, London and the Falkland...
, 1999 – 2002 - Colonel Kathy George, 2002 – 2005
- Colonel John Quinn, 2005 – 2008
- Colonel Wendy Spencer, 2008
List of Matrons-in-Chief TFNS/TANS
- Dame Sidney BrowneSidney BrowneDame Sidney Jane Browne, GBE, RRC was the first appointed Matron-in-Chief of the newly formed Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service....
, 1909 – 1920 - Dame Maud McCarthyMaud McCarthyDame Emma Maud McCarthy, GBE, RRC was a nursing sister and army Matron-in-Chief. She was the eldest child of William Frederick McCarthy, a solicitor, and his Sydney-born wife, Emma Mary à Beckett...
, 1920 – 1925 - Dame Anne Beadsmore Smith, 1925 – 1931
- Rosabelle OsborneRosabelle OsborneRosabelle Osborne, CBE, RRC was Principal Matron at the British War Office, 1924. She advanced and served as Matron-in-Chief at the QAIMNS from 1 April 1928 until 1930....
, 1931 – 1936 - Agatha Phillips, 1936 – 1940
Other Army medical services
- Royal Army Medical CorpsRoyal Army Medical CorpsThe Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
(RAMC) - Royal Army Veterinary CorpsRoyal Army Veterinary CorpsThe Royal Army Veterinary Corps is an administrative and operational branch of the British Army responsible for the provision, training and care of animals. It is a small but technically competent corps forming part of the Army Medical Services...
(RAVC) - Royal Army Dental CorpsRoyal Army Dental CorpsThe Royal Army Dental Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army that provides dental care services to British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
(RADC) - Structure of the British Army — Other Services
Other Armed Forces nursing services
- Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing ServicePrincess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing ServicePrincess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service is the nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force.It was established as the Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service in 1918, and became part of the permanent establishment as the Royal Air Force Nursing Service on 27 January 1921...
- Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing ServiceQueen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing ServiceQueen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch....