Military nursing records
Research guides on military nursing are available on the National Archives website: Military Records Information 55, 56 and 57. These provide a brief history of army, navy and RAF nursing. Each contains a detailed list of relevant records held at the National Archives and other UK archives.
Army nursing
Under 'Army Nursing (Information sheet number 55)', the National Archives website (June 2008) lists their service record holdings in date order as:
- Ref: WO 25/3462
C1820-c1890: mainly concerns the medical staff corps but there are a few entries for nurses. The date of death is given. - Ref: WO 25/3462
1869-1901: National Aid Society. Name and seniority rolls; service records; indexed. - No army nursing service records are known to be in the National Archives prior to 1902.
- Ref: WO 399
1902-1922: QAIMNS: First World War service. may contain details of service, enrolment and discharge papers, and correspondence relating to the period of service. List gives forename and surname.
1914-1918: Territorial Nursing Service (some only): may contain details of service, enrolment and discharge papers, and correspondence relating to the period of service. Alphabetical. - Ref: WO 25/3956
1903-1926: QAIMNS: professional qualifications and recommendations for appointment of staff nurses.
Lists of almost 1,000 nurses who served in Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service Reserve (PANSR) along with information about hospitals and hospital ships from the Boer War period (1899-1902) can be found at on the PANSR website.
The Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs) were started by the Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance Service to provide assistance for army medical services during World War One (1914-1918) and World War Two (1939-1945). They trained volunteers in first aid and other skills. During the Second World War they came under the jurisdiction of the military despite being civilians. Information on the VADs can be found at the Imperial War Museum and service records can be found by writing to:
British Red Cross Museum and Archives
44 Moorfields
London
EC2Y 9AL
Email: enquiry@redcross.org.uk.
For service records of the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC) 1939-1945 write to:
The Ministry of Defence
Army Personnel Centre
Historic Disclosures
Mailpoint 400
Kentigern House
65 Brown Street
Glasgow, G2 8EX.
Telephone: 0141-224-2023 and 0141-224-3303,
Email: disc4.civsec@apc.army.mod.uk.
Information about the QARANC and other army nursing services is available from:
Army Medical Services Museum
Keogh Barracks
Ash Vale
Aldershot
GU12 5RQ.
Email: armymedicalmuseum@btinternet.com.
Naval nursing
For records of naval nursing, the Royal Naval Museum recommends the following resources (June 2008):
- Service records pre-1928: National Archives
- Service records 1928-38: Directorate of Personnel Support (Navy), Navy Search, TNT Archive Services, Tetron Point, William Nadin Way, Swadlincote Derbyshire DE11 0BB. Telephone: 01283 227913 (relatives only).
- Service records post-1938 (available only to next of kin on written request): Data Protection Cell (Navy) Building 1/152, Victory View, HM Naval Base, Portsmouth PO1 3PX.
- Medal entitlements (available only to next of kin on written request): MoD Medal Office (MODMO) AFPPA, Building 250, RAF Innsworth, Gloucester GL3 1HW.
Please note that the Royal Naval Museum has a wealth of information about naval history, but does not hold personnel service records.
A useful publication on the subject of military history is Summers, A Angels and Citizens: British Women as Military Nurses 1854-1914 (Threshold Press, 2nd edition 2000).