Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps

Origins

Established by the War Office through a Royal Warrant in March 1902, this unit started out as the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS).

It replaced both the Army Nursing Service (AMS) - established in 1881, but with origins going back to Florence Nightingale's work in the Crimean War (1854-56) - and the Indian Nursing Service.

Initially, there were strict criteria for selection. Nurses had to be single women of good social standing between 25 and 35 years old, and to have trained for three years at one of only 34 UK hospitals approved by the Nursing Board.

First World War

At the start of the First World War (1914-18), there were just under 300 nurses in the QAIMNS. But, owing to high casualty rates and the huge wartime expansion of the British Army, the tight restrictions on recruitment were quickly relaxed. For the first time, married and working-class women were allowed to join.

By 1918, there were over 10,000 QAIMNS nurses. They served on every front and in every campaign. Altogether, around 200 Army nurses were killed on active service during the conflict.

Towards the end of the war, 14 members of the QAIMNS were also sent to northern Russia to work on the hospital ship 'Kalyan'. They remained onboard for eight months after the ship was locked in ice in Archangel.

Second World War

During the Second World War (1939-45), QAIMNS women were called upon again, serving from Iceland to the Pacific.

In 1939, nurses were sent to France with the British Expeditionary Force. After Hitler’s soldiers invaded Holland, Belgium and France in May 1940, British troops withdrew, including members of the QAIMNS. Before leaving their area, the nurses helped destroy medical equipment, while the Royal Engineers demolished the field hospital so the enemy could not seize it. All of this was carried out under fire from German aircraft.

The QAIMNS rank structure was brought into line with the rest of the British Army in 1941. For the first time, nurses wore rank badges and could be promoted.

In 1944, QAIMNS personnel were the first women to arrive at the Normandy beach head in order to set up a general hospital with capacity for 600 patients. By the end of the war, there were 12,000 nurses in the service.