We recently purchased this watercolour by WH Truscott, painted in 1885. It depicts Sarah Jane Ireland who was the Superintendent Sister, Army Nursing Service, in Suakin, Sudan. It is in need of a very good clean and some attention from an art conservator … so we will get that organised. The Army Nursing Service came into being in 1881, and … Read More
WW1 Photograph Album
We recently purchased a photograph album from WW1. It belonged to Staff Nurse Cecilia Louise Unwin, Territorial Force Nursing Service. Most of the pictures are from her time working at the 1st Eastern General Hospital in Cambridge. You can see what we have learned about her so far on our website. Now we just have to decipher the faint writing … Read More
Sister Sophie Hilling
We have recently purchased the ‘death plaque’ of Sister Sophie Hilling, who died of influenza pneumonia in 1918 (http://britisharmynurses.com/hilling-sophie/) By chance a letter in her service records was from Eva Cicely Fox whose biography we are currently writing. #smallworld
Discovering provenance
We recently purchased an album of photographs of the Queen Alexandra Military Hospital Millbank. Just by chance there was a picture of the chapel. In this picture was a large silk banner depicting the badge of the QAIMNS. The banner itself is part of the QARANC Association Chattels, and is in Robertson House at Camberley. One of the many objects … Read More
Story of a walking stick
The QARANC Association Heritage & Chattels Committee recently purchased a walking stick which had the name of a nurse carved into it. She was Sister Mary Lea, Territorial Army Nursing Service. It also had Geneifa Egypt and 1941 carved into it. At the time we didn’t realise that this nurse died when the Hospital Ship Newfoundland was bombed on 13 … Read More
Mary Ridley Makepeace
While browsing through copies of the Black and White Budget from 1900 I came across some photographs of the nurses on the Hospital Ship Spartan. Unusually the nurses are named. One of them, Sister Mary Ridley Makepeace was a nurse in my Boer War database who was also one of the Boer War veterans to serve in WW1, retiring in … Read More
CLA Robinson autograph book
We have added a video showing the pages from Lilian Robinson’s autograph book. We have started to do the transcription and notes and that will be available soon.
Emily Jane Wood
We have now started to publish a transcription of the Boer War diary of Sister Emily Jane Wood. Emily Jane Wood trained at the Glasgow Royal Infirmary. She joined Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service (Reserve) in May 1900 as part of the Scottish Red Cross Hospital forming up to go to South Africa. As well as serving with the Scottish … Read More
HMHS Anglia
We were recently asked about the sinking of the Hospital Ship HMHS Anglia, which was requisitioned and refitted for use as a hospital ship and put to use ferrying the injured from France to England.The HMHS Anglia was carrying 13 officers and 372 other ranks when, just after midday on the 17th November 1915 about a mile east of Folkestone … Read More