Military Nurse Ranks
 

I know in WWI, and I am assuming also in WWII that army and navy nurses held officer rank only - referring to the QA's and Commonwealth equivalents. But I know from pursuing more current insignia as well that they now also hold OR ranks. When did the rules change no longer making all nurses officer rank?

Thanks,

Terry

Lifted straight from the QA Association website. As it happens i was one of these non commissioned nurses !

Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps

On 1st February 1949 the QAIMNS became Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC). In July 1950 the first non-commissioned ranks were admitted to the Corps, and in 1954 the first nurses to undertake State Registered Nurse training within the Corps successfully passed their examinations. However, the QARANC was still an all-female organisation as male nurses at this point, were members of the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), and it was not until April 1992 that male nurses transferred to the QARANC.

https://britisharmynurses.com/brief-...-army-nursing/

Not really relevent to your question but back in the 1990's a friend got a Nursing Sister post at the Sultan Qaboos Armed Forces Hospital in Muscat Oman.
She was given an officer's rank so she had authority over the OR ranks she would be working with.

When she came to work in a Military Hospital in Saudi I used to salute her , just to wind her up ! :D


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Thank you gentlemen! So it seems 1950 is when the non0officer ranks came into being.

Did she retain her officer rank when she returned home, as it sounds like a temporary rank?

This also brings up another question. Are the non-officer ranks still qualified nurses or more like nurses aides?

Mike, your comment brings a question. If she was given a rank higher than you, would it not have been correct to salute her? Just trying to understand.

Terry

Terry, Its more a question of SRN vs SEN where ranks come into question...

Terry , she had the rank while working in Oman , when she came to Saudi I was her boss ! :D


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SRN's could be commissioned but both SRN's & SEN's could be 'other ranks' with SRN's attening Senior Rank status in greater numbers, and also could get commissioned later on, this was to give a rank stucture to the corps. Nursing Aids were known as Ward Stewardesses and some admin staff were WRAC

There are no longer any SEN trained.

Qualified SRN's were called Professionally Qualified Nurses and did a short military course at Aldershot followed by a short commissioning course at Sandhurst.

My wife Ann was Training Centre Sister at the Royal Pavilon at Aldershot and looked after all the QARANC in basic training or on courses (Nurse training was done at the BMH's) She left the Army and became Garrison Sister at MRS Sennelarger coming under 3ADFA for admin purposes.

Hi Mike,

Could you ask your wife if this only appled to female nurses or could male SRN's be commissioned too on entry to QARANC? Thinking about the early 1980's era.

Regards,

Chris

At that point male nurses where in the RAMC. As i understand it the ceiling was Staff Sgt. Partly why male nurses where admitted into the QARANC. To give equal opportunities for all nurses. (to commission or not).

Thanks!

When I completed my SRN back in 1980 I started as a Staff Nurse in an Accident and Emergency unit. A female nurse that I trained with thought about joining the Army and we both enquired with me having previous military experience. Seems she would almost start as a Captain but me as a Private even though we had trained together from day one and had the same nursing qualification and experience. Instituional sexisum or what!

Of interest - Staff Nurse comes from olden days where the wards were set up as follows following military lines:

Senior Sister - Captain
Junior Sister - Lieutenant
Staff Nurse - Staff Sergeant
Untrained - Ranks

Over all this was a hospital matron - Major

Well, that what I was told by my nursing school back in the late 1970's.

Regards,

Chris

I guess it was an odd system. But as it is its really only just opened up for woman to truly do anything they can aspire to in the army in the last year or so. The other thing worth noting that as a top band 5 in the army i was on the same as a band 7 in the NHS.

Re Post #8 - Yes they could from 1992 before that they could apply for an LE QM type commission but not carry on nursing.

A good friend of ours was one of the first RAMC (then a S/Sgt) to commission into the QARANC and at his dinning out night in the Sargent's Mess he was presented with a Female Ward Dress & Cape as a spoof gift, which he promptly went to his room and changed into complete with captains rank slides as he had already got his appointment letter. He later worked for the NHS as a Specialist Nurse Consultant till he retired.

Mike C

I had an uncle who served in the RAMC from the 1950s to retirement as a WO1 RSM of 252 Sunderland Field Ambulance (V) in the mid 1970s. I seem to recall that he was at Saighton Camp Chester, BMH Singapore and BMH Hannover and at some point held an appointment as 'Wardmaster'. Was that an RAMC equivalent of Matron?

Tim

Mike love the story! I am sure he looked very charming in his dress and tippet!!! "My nurse what a deep voice you have."!!!!

Terry

In my time a 'Wardmaster' represented an admin post. Someone who controlled the admitting and discharging of patients to a ward. This relieved the medics/nursing staff to handle the clinical side of treating patients. So not the equivalent of a Matron