Royal Air Force Nursing Service RAF General Hospital in Brussels during the Second World War
Active 1 June 1918–present
(originally as Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service) Country United Kingdom Allegiance HM The King Branch Royal Air Force
RAF Medical Services Type Nursing Role Medicine Size 498 nurses Garrison/HQ Air Command, RAF High Wycombe Engagements World War II ,Korean War ,Falklands War ,Gulf War (Op GRANBY ),Bosnian War ,Kosovo War ,War in Afghanistan ,Gulf War II (Op TELIC )Matron-In-Chief Group Captain Charlie ThompsonPatron Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy , LG , GCVO RAF Ensign Red Cross Emblem
Military unit
Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS ) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force .
It was established as the Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service (RAFNS) in 1918, and became part of the permanent establishment as the Royal Air Force Nursing Service on 27 January 1921. It received the Royal prefix after Princess Mary agreed to become its Patron in June 1923.
It was a women-only branch until 1980, when men were also permitted to join. Until the Second World War , it was only open to unmarried women, or childless widows. There was also a Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (Reserve) (PMRAFNS(R) ) to supplement the regular service during times of war or emergencies.
A history of the service was commissioned from the writer Mary Mackie and appeared in 2001.[1] An updated and extended edition covering subsequent decades (including service in Afghanistan ) was published in September 2014.[2]
Ranks
The initial ranking system used by the PMRAFNS was as follows.
From 1 June 1943, PMRAFNS personnel were granted emergency Commissions , and wore rank insignia corresponding to their equivalent Royal Air Force officer rank. On 1 February 1949, the women's forces were integrated into the Armed Forces, and a new ranking system was introduced, although professional titles were still used on the wards.
Other Ranks were introduced in 1956, although unqualified Nursing Orderlies had previously served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force and Women's Royal Air Force . They held standard RAF ranks. Officers used the separate ranking system until 1980, when they too adopted RAF ranks.
Hospitals
The RAF had several hospitals which were staffed by nurses from the PMRAFNS. These were located at Akrotiri , Albrighton, Wolverhampton , Ely , Halton Nocton Hall, Lincolnshire , Aden , Uxbridge , Wegberg and Wroughton .[8]
Matrons-in-Chief
Dame Joanna Cruickshank , 1918–1930
Dame Katherine Watt , 1930–1938
Dame Emily Blair , 1938–1943
Dame Gladys Taylor , 1943–1948
Air Commandant Dame Helen Cargill , 1948–1952
Air Commandant Dame Roberta Whyte , 1952–1956
Air Commandant Dame Alice Williamson , 1956–1959
Air Commandant Dame Alice Lowrey , 1959–1963
Air Commandant Dame Veronica Ashworth , 1963–1966[9]
Air Commandant Dame Pauline Giles , 1966–1970[10]
Air Commandant Ann McDonald , 1970–1972
Air Commandant Barbara Ducat-Amos , 1972–1978
Air Commodore Joan Metcalfe , 1978–1981
Air Commodore Joy Harris , 1981–1984
Air Commodore April Reed , 1984–1985
Group Captain Mary Shaw , 1985–1988
Group Captain Elizabeth Sandison , 1988–1991
Group Captain Ethnea Hancock , 1991–1994
Air Commodore Valerie Hand , 1994–1997
Air Commodore Bob Williams , 1997–2001[11]
Group Captain Annie Reid , 2001–2004[12]
Group Captain Wendy Williams , 2004–2006
Group Captain Jackie Gross , 2006–2010
Group Captain Phil Cushen , 2010–2013
Group Captain Phil Spragg , 2013–2015
Group Captain Michael Priestley , 2015–2018
Group Captain Fionnuala Bradley , 2018–2021
Group Captain Emma Redman , 2021–[13]
See also
References and notes
^ Mary Mackie: Sky Wards - A History of the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (London: Robert Hale, 2001).
^ Mary Mackie: Wards in the Sky – the RAF's Remarkable Nursing Service (The History Press, UK, 2014, ISBN 9780750959568 ).
^ Phased out during the Second World War.
^ Initially called Superintending Sister, but renamed after a few years.
^ Introduced later than other ranks.
^ Introduced later than other ranks, possibly not until the Second World War.
^ An honorary rank held only by Princess Mary (7 October 1950) and Princess Alexandra (1 November 1966).
^ "RAF - PM MDHU History" . www.raf.mod.uk . Retrieved 31 July 2017 .
^ Rees-Mogg, William , ed. (14 January 1977). "Dame Veronica Ashworth (Obituary)". The Times . No. 59907. p. 18. ISSN 0140-0460 .
^ Thomson, Robert , ed. (28 October 2005). "Air Commandant Dame Pauline Parsons". The Times . No. 68530. p. 74. ISSN 0140-0460 .
^ "History" . Archived from the original on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 2 February 2016 .
^ "BLDSS" . Direct.bl.uk . Retrieved 1 February 2016 .
^ "Welcome to Group Captain Emma Redman DNS RAF" . Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service Association . 10 November 2021. Retrieved 19 December 2021 .
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