200202 QARNNS 100 Supplement

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A Century of Caring ARNNS

Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service

/Y NEWS, QARNNS CENTENAR\' SUPPLEMENT. FEBRUARY 2002

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The changing face nursing in the Nd

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hroughout its history, the Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service has proven itself adaptable, capable and committed to caring for the lives of the men and women of the Royal Navy.

Helen Craven gives you a glimpse at the

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fascinating history of these dedicated nurses.

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Naval nursing c1fccticI he gan in and nurSIng. Mr l:luia Msckcn,it fr The badge tier " the 1850s, in the Critiican war as iiinpanicd b husband, OARNNS still cont Proiccint headed to a nasal minister. men lay dying in atrocious condiI crossed AM for hospital at fltcrapiaon the Hosphoru mow Alexandra's to rwide care to .rvia.

-- Earlier nursing duties had been carPcrsonnc. combined with th ild had to to a ubuing prc anchor. pensioned sailors and tied. out h marnes, or their wklows. and had con Admiralty that sne could handle the and horrors of in sisted of scant care and treatment. nursing As the (iFflCflS of VS " Mrs Eliza Mock~ began naval nursing at the naval !째 grimy. Iearstaincd war. She stood i itcrialiscd. the larg As l'iorencc Nightingale creates in Inc theatre of the operating hospitalat Therapla, during the Crimean War. t'L, 1 ptl t fr hc 'LiIfs of Can rlg Ing hospitals in the cous Middlesex Hospital as a young man tilicd nurses suitable ft leg was amputated. without anaesthetic to the armed forces as Si she stood there and watched to prove QARNNSSiccrs wet '-' that she could.

1)1 I iixr-s. with staff nursing d ARE Eliz.a and her team had to deal with sided h the male Sick Be,il - .

I gunshot wounds and infectious disHut these men were needed M~ noditson. eases, but nursingatthtsstagewasreal- . si, hiss- p itals filled their vacar --- -ly a matter of basic by gene and nutnThe SUC Voluntary Aid Detachments lion - keeping the men clean and well. cc.-,% of these and Reserves. to a%ktheir hotticsin nuts sparked rol nlcTcsI In liftt. ferilong enough VADs were young won recover.

Queen Alcxandra.wdeot I.snt'dward joined up "to do their hit" -' VI l,wrotc to Lord St lboinc. l-irst Lord Or Services in the war But Eliza was conscious , the Admiralty. stating that 'the great described the experience as that she was throughout t1'59 wish of my bean has always been to straight from my mothers -"have the Navy Nursing l)cpantmcnt . it. room to the sluicc of a hi llhe future of in care the , Navy. also under my special charge. and that World 'Air I also brought I - -, it may likewise hear my name and he The Admiratis skcsskst %Iii the creation ot 'Massage Sisters'. , amalamatcd with the Army as soon as physiotherapists. Begun in I experiment with tliia Mutkenuie had possible proved a success. So naval nursing con. rudimentary massage the brar The Admiralty responded with tinued with the first nasal sisters ly progressed before the school of physiotherapy we mg liaslar and Plymouth huspitas in speed it) the offer of royal patronage, but any question of amalgamation with t *44. over by the RN in 1932. the Army's nursing corps was quickly Patient care was carried out correctAt the end of the war. th contracted with wards staf forgotten. ly and on time, ward cleanliness And on November lIt, 1902. the regagain by Sick Berth staff and improved, and subtly but significantly, the language and attitude of the ulattuns for what is now called the l'hruugh the 20s and 30s, OARNNS were publisiicd. and conditions of service patients and attendants changed. And so the presence of nursing Sisters The Queen was personally involved OARNNS developed in line . extended to Chatham, Arms and civilian nursing. in the consideration of conditions of Most significant in this pi In fact. the Isrst female personnel scrvicc, and even the design of the uni" QARIVNS Sisters a the ercitlon of a register of wing their went to sea on active service in 11497, form, badges on their tippets, at the Royal nurses. The Navy followed I when two Sisters joined the hospital It seems that the uniforms were Naval Hospital Chatham an 1 made up on models and sent up to the deciding that anyone Josi Ship Malacca in lft)7 for the tknin

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Alexandra wished to have lhe

" Front covv QARNNS SW~ on board the Ptassy during World War I.

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service lk!, under her '5~ charge'.

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" Olga Franklin was taken frame military hospital to an Internment camp after the Japanese recorded her ex~~ in a tapoatiy on her nurse's apron.

In captivity, she

NAVY NEWS, QARNNS CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, FEBRUARY 2002

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pleted tibree bears training a registered nur%k ill, BY the 30%. "

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in 1939. Reserve Sisicr I it) resource. This

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In lime. as the was on even the dragged Reservists were whisked

uniforms.

These women served in Ipshss.hospital ships lispi.liS

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lhrspiial ill I)cccmlwr 14441.

in

Hong

Franklin was the sensor

Olpi a Supcrintcnding Sister, with other OARNNS Sisters,

nurse,

Miss (irituith and Miss Rollin. These three with

lets other military nurses were taken by the Japanese. who would not recognise thei, military status, it) the

Stanley internment camp.

She took with her a tropical discascs and a set of embroinursing testhciok. dery silks.

Throughout

her time

at the

camp, she sat arid stitched onto her own OARNNS uniform

silks pictures of the harsh details of multi-coloured

camp life.

corn-pounded The Limp was full of women and children. ith all their ailment..

by the tack of food and medi-

QARNNS lkncsulciii lund was used to debts run up in this constant pay the struggle to relieve the suffering in the camp.

Alter the war, nursing life continued.

Sisters continued to work in the UK . and returned

to

places around the world including Malta and hong Kong.

Military hospitals had ceased to be male-only preserve, and female stall nurses

were needed its provide the hands-sin care along with the male Sick Berth Attendants (SBAs), Initially Wren SI3As were tried, but by the mid-50% the decision was taken to form a QARNNS ratings section.

called the Nasal Nursing Auxiliaries, The Admiralts then decided that the Navy could train its own nurses, and took a great step - to set up a Royal Naval School of Nursing.

The Statutory Body for nursing required for all recognised trainin schools to provide not only quali(ic nurse teachers, but a patient base with a broader range of conditions than the narrow

field provided by young. healthy sailors and marine'..

Now the Navy had to provide suit-

Bartering with the local., provided the only access to these essential sup-

able accomnniodation and study lacililies, and open their military hospitals a civilian catchmcnt area. up fully to Student and pupil nurse training

On 11w return of the three OARNNS Sister'. I n.m I 1w internment camp. lbe

branch of the KS that pr n iilcrl retils ter,'i nut'.,'. tni.i st,rki',

cine.

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Uganda was transformed in just 72 hours in Gibraltar from cruise ship to hospital ship, where QARNNS personnel worked through the Falkiands War.

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three women. the experience (it World War II was

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,straight overseas. some limes without even training

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were called up help iii the UK's hosnitals while

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OAkNNS Reserve was re established as a permanent I

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plies, and once items to exchange ran out, then promises and goodwill were the only trade.

began in Portsmouth and Plymouth in 19(i2.

Medical Technicians. the male

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These men were trained :ulongsuilc Itn women at the Royal Nasal ScIi.,,r of Niur'.ing

For

nurses

QARNNS from

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general

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tals, there were a lot of adjustments to be made.

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the ii U changed nurses struggled with the icr ii 'deck, for floor, anti 'heusis lot toihi One recalls her initial battle it) gt mans

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grips with the 24-hour chick:" I it. n the Sister must have been tearing i hair out because I couldn't work .' what llK1 meant."

Another

former

Sister

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grand naval tradition which Wa'. niicly not part of general hospital tics, - the drink ration: "When I w., out the drugs at about sin evening, in my trolley I had these lutti, trays with little caralcs and glasses i' give out the appropriate drink they thoroughly enjoyed." Wit give

received in turn an issue of beer,

In comnlu,i with working wt, throughout the decades, the Sist the mid-N)% had to cope with .. and ingrained attitudes.

One Sister describes the tstiituil

few doctors to the QARNNS nil '\ stall: number seemed to think ilw nursing Sisters were there tin nit il'rni sti Ii tr.r irntl i'ui(fi' and " Turn to next page.

" Nursing duties for OARNNS Sisters were around the world. One sister works in an operating theatre in the hospital at B,ghi Malta, in 1965.

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S The male RN qualified nurses unified with the female OARNNS branch in 19 this photo shows a Sensor Nursing Officer instructing probafionar/ student nurses at the Royal Naval School of Nursing in the same year

" The caption reads:

Ever

so much

better since you came

in,

Commander!

Ca,'toons above and centre page were drawn by Alice Ruff~, a RN VAD (Voluntary Aid Detachment) In World War II. A file containing her drawings and cartoons was found at a showroom in P'mouth, but no on. knows what became of Alice.

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NAVY NEWS, QARNNS CENTENARY SUPPLEMENT, FEBRUARY 2002

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• A home visit from a QARNNS Sister in Malta in the 1950s. much more, but any sister worth her salt faced with that situation soon ensured that it didn't happen again."

Of course, it wasn't just the doctors who had to be set straight. The 60s also brought the arrival of the micro miniskirt: "If you had a really young Sister join whose dress was perhaps a little over the top, she would be taken aside by one of the older people and reminded that she was a nursing officer as well as a young person. And that sometimes one took precedence over the other."

In 1977, all QARNNS personnel came under the Naval Discipline Act; effectively up to that point they had been civilians attached to the RN. One Sister's opinion of this technical distinction is typical of many: "I joined in 1967, and it didn't occur to me that I wasn't legally part of the Navy. As far as I was concerned I had definitely joined the Navy."

T

he next major event for the Service after the Korean War was the Falklands War in 1982.

The teaching staff at the Royal Naval Hospital Haslar had to move fast to cobble together a syllabus of teaching for the nurses and medical staff heading out to the South Atlantic.

After two days of intensive training, the medical teams set off for war.

The nurses who headed off to the Falklands were lacking basic kit for operational conditions. An emergency dash produced Marks and Spencers trousers and Dental Wrens white tunics.

But the trousers contained manmade fibres, completely unsuitable for the hazards of shipboard life.

Quickly the nurses reverted to No.8 blues, the standard working rig for sailors.

One advantage of the long journey south was that it provided ample opportunity for further training and drills. A number of the teaching staff made up the surgical and nursing teams, and all expertise was passed on and shared.

two ratings with burns from HMS Sheffield: "They talked a lot about little presents and things they had bought to bring back to their wives and children that had been lost.

"It was quite poignant to hear them talking about things that really were quite simple little things but they were very upset about that."

Nurses had to decide their priorities in patient care, and improvise to cover missing equipment: "One thing we had not got was weights [for traction], so we filled plastic lemonade bottles with water."

After the Falklands QARNNS personnel took every opportunity to exercise and train nurses in their

• A Sister tutor instructs nurses and Sick Berth staff in the 1960s at Haslar.

This travelling time was particu- war role, along with the Surgical larly useful for the chance to exer- Support Teams and the Royal cise with the Royal Marines bandsMarines, in a ship environment. men, musicians whose specific It wasn't until 1983 that the two operational role was to act as naval nursing branches, male and stretcher bearers. female, were unified.

These Marines had a difficult This gave the male Medical task, carrying patients through Technicians, a previously unavaildoors, along corridors and up able option to advance from nurse stairs in difficult sea conditions and rating to traumatic times.

Nursing A QARNNS Sister who served Officer - a in the Falklands recalls: "They new title were absolutely wonderful, marvelt h a t lous." replaced For the first time the hospital Sister in ship's role changed during this these menSouth Atlantic conflict. friendly Up to then hospital ships were times. primarily the carriers of the When wounded and nursing generally the probconsisted of making the patients lems flared comfortable, redoing their dressup in the ings, and feeding and watering Gulf, no them, with some necessary emerBritish gency treatment. hospital In the Falklands, the surgical ship was teams performed not only this inisent to the tial surgery, but secondary surgery. front.

There The nurses treated casuwas no alties brought from field suitable hospitals, or even just lifted British vesfrom the battlefield. sel in UK Argentinians were treated waters; and a dedicated hospital alongside the British, and all ship was required to conform to received equal care and strict regulations in terms of locaattention. tion and communications.

Within a fortnight, the hangar of The Sister recalls treating her the Royal Fleet Auxiliary aviation first patients from the Falklands,

training ship, RFA Argus, had been filled with a "portacabin hospital". And the medics set off once again to war.

RFA Argus spent more time in the frontline of the Gulf Conflict than any other British ship, ensuring that whatever happened, all personnel were within close range of a modern hospital facility.

Argus has only just finished a major refit in 2001, and now contains a complete hospital on three decks. QARNNS nurses and Naval Medical Branch personnel were involved in the planning from the beginning, ensuring that Argus now provides the best hospital environment for the restricted conditions.

In September 1995, QARNNS took naval rank with gold braid and badges on both arms, but with the crossed AAs motif worn on both sleeves or as a badge.

Ultimately in April 2000 the QARNNS became part of the Royal Navy as a discrete nursing service, closely aligned to the mainstream of the RN, but with some differences due to its nursing function.

The QARNNS, along with the medical branches of all three Services, had gone through a serious review in the mid-90s, and the numbers in the Service were significantly reduced while collaboration between the Services grew. ow the Royal Navy has an increasing humanitarian role across the world, with an accompanying need for medical support.

The Service is growing again in response to this need, providing effective and excellent nursing care to Service personnel and civilians in the UK and around the world, in times of peace and conflict.

The men and women of the QARNNS will continue to adapt and face with bravery the future for the Royal Navy.

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Centenary events:

QARNNS centenary 1902-2002

• October 2001 - a tree planting in the Garden of Remembrance at Haslar Hospital.

• May 8 - Florence Nightingale Foundation ceremony at Westminster Abbey. All three Services take part, and the three Matrons-in-Chief escort the Book of Remembrance for all British nurses who have died in conflict; 2002 will have a special significance for the QARNNS. • May 9 - Reception at Goldsmith's Hall in London for serving and retired QARNNS personnel.

• June 17 - Exhibition at Netley Museum in Southampton to celebrate QARNNS and the Army's nursing corps, QARANC. • July - QARNNS 2002 Sailing Expedition: Portsmouth, Lisbon, Gibraltar using BT Challenger Yacht.

• September 7 - Dedication of chapel in Portsmouth cathedral.

Commissioned artwork and plaque with motif.

Commemorations: • Book: 'Nursing in the Senior Service' by Claire Taylor, published in January 2002.

• Article: 'Light before Dawn: Naval Nursing and Medical Care during the Crimean War' by Richard Huntsman, Mary Bruin, Deborah Holttum. Published in the Spring 02 edition of the Journal of the Royal Naval Medical Service produced at the Institute of Naval Medicine.

• Notelets, postcards and coasters to commemorate the centenary.

For details, contact the QARNNS Archive, Institute of Naval Medicine, Gosport, PO122DL. • Below left: Youngsters at • RN Philatelic Society is HMS Ganges don't seem to be producing a commemorative performing too well cover to mark the centenary in at a training session. November.

• Miss K'Eogh, one • Permanent exhibit at Royal of the first women to Naval Museum in Portsmouth. serve at sea with the Royal Navy in 1897.

Further details:

• With thanks to: Captain Claire Taylor and the QARNNS Archive for material and photographs; The Oral History Collection of the Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth.

For recruitment information: www.rnjobs.co.uk.

I QARNNS Archive, INM, Gosport, PO12 2DL. I QARNNS Assn (Officers), Secretary, 2 Longwater Drive, Gosport, PO12 2UP. www.qarnns association. co.uk.

• QARNNS Assn (Ratings), Secretary, 12 Dell Close, Widley, Waterlooville, PO7 SAY. www.qarnns ratings.cwc.net.