Page 54 - QARANC Spring 2024

54 The Gazette QARANC Association
‘Friendship and bonds that will last a lifetime’
In December 2023, Major Alistair Bond QARANC’s time in the Army Medical Reserve came to an end. In this ‘career reflection’ he shares some of the special moments of nearly 31 years in service.
The first came early in my Army Reserve career, when I was chosen to carry the sword of Captain Noel Chavasse VC and Bar (1884-1917) who is one of only three people to be awarded the Victoria Cross twice – and the only VC and Bar of the First World War. This was on ‘Chavasse Day’ when my Unit, then 208 (Liverpool) Field Hospital, remembers him and pays tribute to his memory.
It was a very strange, almost surreal feeling carrying the sword of such an iconic person, through the streets of Liverpool, where he grew up before running the 400m for Britain in the 1908 London Olympics.
My Unit’s Commanding Officer, Colonel Richard Murphy, handed me the sword of Merseyside’s greatest war hero, from the display cabinet in Chavasse House and we travelled to the Anglican Cathedral in Liverpool, forming up in the next street. I then had the honour, at the head of the parade to march with the sword down the hill and up to the main entrance of the Cathedral to once again be met by Colonel Murphy.
I remember thinking “if this happens at the start of my military career; what adventures may lie ahead”.
In 2003, I had the opportunity to use my clinical
Major Alistair Bond with his parents carrying the Noel Chavasse Sword
I wasn’t very good at the CrossFit,
but I was strong – as
a farmer’s daughter I’d been used to throwing hay bales around – and a coach at the gym suggested
I try weightlifting
Major Alistair Bond (top row far right) on Op TELIC
skills and knowledge in a very different and very challenging hostile clinical environment in the Gulf War (Op TELIC). By this time my Commanding Officer was Colonel John Wignall, and he was a person with a very calm and reassuring personality, which was essential at a time of great uncertainty.
As events began to unfold and it became increasingly likely some if not most of the members of the unit would deploy; I like most of my colleagues waited for the brown envelope to arrive. When it did, I felt a mixture of relief and immense pride that I had been chosen to perform the role I had waited so long to do.
I remember phoning my parents to tell them the news; only for my father to answer and tell me “I cannot think about you at the moment, as I am worried about your mum as she is going in hospital tomorrow for an operation.” This was a reality check as I sat in my flat alone, looking out at the Liverpool skyline; waiting to go to war.
Initially I deployed with 202 Field Hospital and after completing pre deployment training in the UK, I travelled to Camp Coyote in Kuwait, where we took over the field hospital from 33 Field Hospital. As my colleagues and I entered the hospital complex, I felt a sense of déjà vu, as I had previously taken the opportunity to deploy on Exercise Saif Sareea 2 in Oman.
As the tempo of Ops increased, I like my colleagues got the opportunity to use our clinical skills and knowledge to care for a mixture of civilian and military causalities. It was not only a challenge working in the hospital complex, but also learning to adapt to life in such a hostile environment.
Some of the things I recall during this phase of my army career were receiving shoe boxes full of goodies from kind people in the UK, mastering the art of using the solar shower and working out which was the best MRE. I also had the opportunity to go as escort to places like Basra Airport, Umm Qasr Port and Basra Cathedral.
Then it was all over, and we started packing our kit prior to flying home back to the UK. As we flew back to East Midlands Airport, I felt a sense of pride as I looked around the airplane at my colleagues. Friendships and bonds had been formed during this time and would last throughout the rest of my army career.
My favourite role during my time in the Army