Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC)

I'm trying to determine if QA's in UK would have served at the front in field hospitals and at hospitals here in the UK set up as clearing stations (e.g. Park Prewett in Basingstoke). I have a character in my book that starts the story in France in a field hospital but then gets posted back to the UK and I'm not sure if that happened.
I'm presuming that only QA's could have served on the front, not general nurses?
Thanks in anticipation.
Hope this is the right place to ask...

 

Hi Jo

Perhaps a call or email to this link may help - http://www.ams-museum.org.uk/museum/history/qaranc-history/ - FAQ's & Contact

"World War Two
With the outbreak of World War 2, nurses once again found themselves serving all over the world, including Norway, Iceland, Greece, Ceylon and South Africa. The changing working conditions and wartime shortages led to changes in uniform. Khaki slacks and battledress blouses replaced the grey and scarlet ward dress and rank insignia was adopted to signify the officer status of the nurses. In the Far East the fall of Hong Kong and Singapore led to many army nurses being captured by the Japanese and enduring the terrible hardships and deprivations of the Far East prisoner-of-war camps."

TD

 

One of my children was born in the Queen Alexandra Hospital Singapore, but that was long after the war.
It was built in the late 30s, and suffered a terrible massacre by the Japanese in 1942 during their invasion of Singapore. Most patients and staff were slaughtered, so I would think some of those would be Q.A. nurses.

 

Just a nitpic, but, as my wife will tell me, their correct title during WW2 was Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. They did not become Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (note the order of words) until 1 February 1949. Do not forget there is also a Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service, though I am not aware of their history. The Territorial Army Nursing Service was mobilised at the start of the war and was incorporated into the QAIMNS, and of course Reserve QAs were also called up. They went to war wearing their grey dresses, scarlet capes and white veils (and tin hats and gas masks too), but as clothes rationing kicked in, and the impractability of dresses in combat areas became apparent, nurses started to wear standard uniform with trousers,appropriate to the area they were working in. During the war, QA officers did not technically hold military rank, but had their own medical sounding titles (eg Principal Matron, equivalent to Lt Col), though these titles were equivalent to military ranks. Not till 1950 did they start to use the same ranks as other army officers.

QAs were deployed in all theatres of war, both in Military Hospitals in UK, Field Hospitals overseas and down as far as Casualty Clearing Stations, not infrequently (Tobruk, Anzio) within enemy artillery range. While I feel that a QA already deployed to NW Europe in 1944/45 would be unlikely to be posted home without some very good reason (perhaps compassionate or medical), it would not be unheard of..

HTH

Chris

 

Nurse in Normandy ​

Sister C.W. Hobbs,

Liverpool Echo 27th June 1944

 

Wasn't sure where else to put this, but thought it may be of interest to researchers of QAIMNS, TANS, IVAS etc.

It's chance find at the National Archives of India - 500-odd pages of miscellaneous paperwork relating to nurses in India/Burma. Strikes me as something that won't exist elsewhere so may be of value to someone tracing a particular sister. Some screenshots below.

Filename: Q.A.I.M.N.S and T.A.N.S Miscellaneous casualty reports of members of the. | Identifier: NAIDLF01595777 | File Number: 11-4-42-II-N

Martin

 

You may be interested to know that the QAs are no more. They have been amalgamated into the Royal Army Medical Service (RAMS) together with the Royal Army Medical Corps and the Royal Army Dental Corps. It would appear that the QAs Old Comrades Association continues.
Chris