LOUGHNAN, Margery
Early Years
When Margery Loughnan was born in October 1888 in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, her father, Alfred, was 30, and her mother, Mildred, was 31. She had three brothers and five sisters[1][2]. In 1911 she was a governess at a house near her family in Croydon[3]. She trained as a nurse at Guy's Hospital, London, 1913 to 1916, joining the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserve) (QAIMNS(R)) in April 1916[4].
Nursing Service in World War One
Margery Loughnan was a Staff Nurse in the QAIMNS(R), serving mostly in hospitals in the UK, with one posting to the Hospital Ship Kalyan[4]. Her postings are listed on a copper plate.
Two of her sisters, Kathleen and Isabel, served overseas with the Red Cross as VADs[5]. Her brother Edmund served as a telegraphist in the Royal Navy[6].
Nursing Service between the wars
Staff Nurse Loughnan transferred from the Reserve to the regular Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service on 2 May 1919[7]. She had numerous postings during this period[8][9][10], being promoted to Sister in 1926[11]. She was in India at the start of World War Two.
Nursing Service in World War Two
By 1941 she was a Matron (acting Principal Matron) and was awarded the Royal Red Cross[12]. She was confirmed as a Principal Matron in 1942[13]. In 1944 she was appointed an Officer of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services in India[14]. Her citation reads:
For her conspicuously successful administration of the Nursing Services of the Eastern Army throughout its formation and action and especially during the period (June to October 1943) under review. In spite of initial shortages of personnel and of the low standard of training of many of the A.N.S., she has raised the general standard of nursing throughout the Army area to a satisfactory level. By continued personal contact she has directed and improved nursing in hard pressed outstations and always provided nursing staffs for forward units as soon as these could be posted. By her cheerfully firm handling of some 750 members she has most ably administered the Nursing Service of the Eastern Army.
She served with the 14th Army, a multinational force comprising units from Commonwealth countries, including the Indian Army, and divisions from West and East Africa. It was often referred to as the "Forgotten Army" because its operations in the Burma Campaign were overlooked by the contemporary press and remained less well known than those in Europe.
In June 1946 she was retired from her post as Principal Matron but was re-employed as a Matron[15]. She was reconfirmed as Principal Matron and given the honorary title Chief Principal Matron in 1947[16][17].
Artefact: Indian Copper Tray of Postings
Indian copper tray bearing all of Margery Loughnan's postings
IMAGE NEEDED
Postings inscribed on the tray
QAIMNS(R)
- Brockenhurst, 1916
- Sheffield, 1916
- Hospital Ship Kalyan, 1917
- Cosham, 1918
- Blandford, 1918
- Reading, 1918
QAIMNS
- Aldershot, 1919
- Constantinople, 1922
- Gallipoli, 1923
- Millbank, 1923
- Colchester, 1925
- Allahabad, 1927
- Maymyo, 1928
- Rangoon, 1930
- Ranikhet, 1930
- Lucknow, 1931
- Jhansi, 1931
- Millbank, 1932
- Agra, 1935
- Peshawar, 1937
- Muree, 1938
- Lahore, 1939
- Oxford, 1940
- Millbank, 1940
- West Africa, 1940
- North-West Army, 1942
- Eastern Army, 1942
- 14th Army, 1943
- C.M.F., 1944
- Hospital Ship Dorsetshire, 1946 - 1947
- RMA Sandhurst, 1947 - 1956
References
- ↑ 1891 England Census, RG12; Piece 749; Folio 127; Page 57.
- ↑ 1901 England Census, RG13; Piece 990; Folio 38; Page 23.
- ↑ 1911 England Census, RG14; Piece 3388; Schedule 199.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 UK & Ireland, Nursing Registers, 1898 to 1968.
- ↑ British Red Cross Society, First World War history.
- ↑ The National Archives, ADM 127/362, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve Ratings Campaign Medal Rolls, 1914–1920.
- ↑ London Gazette, 20 February 1920, Issue 31789, p.2151.
- ↑ The Army List, 1922.
- ↑ The Army List, 1933.
- ↑ The Army List, 1936.
- ↑ British Journal of Nursing, August 1926, p.188.
- ↑ London Gazette, 1 July 1941 (Supplement), p.3751.
- ↑ London Gazette, 1 December 1942 (Second Supplement), p.5259.
- ↑ London Gazette, 19 October 1944 (Supplement), p.4784.
- ↑ London Gazette, 4 October 1946 (Supplement), p.4941.
- ↑ London Gazette, 2 April 1947 (Supplement), p.1543.
- ↑ London Gazette, 8 July 1947 (Supplement), p.3116.
