Page 70 - QARANC Spring 2024

70 The Gazette QARANC Association
OBITUARY
WO1 Pat Frazer
ARRC
‘A much loved and
missed friend’
14 March 1951 – 3 September 2023
Warrant Officer Class One Anne Patricia Frazer ARRC (known as Pat) died on 3 September 2023 aged 72. Pat was born on 14 March 1951 in Tipperary, Ireland. She was one of six children, three brothers, two sisters and a stepbrother with whom she was very close as well as being a loving aunt to her nieces and nephews.
Pat’s dream was to join the armed forces and so she joined the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC) in 1973 as a psychiatric nurse.
During her 22 years in service, she was posted to Royal Victoria Netley near Southampton, BMH Tidworth, BMH Munster in Germany, BMH Hong Kong, and Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital Woolwich. On promotion to Warrant Officer Class 2 she was posted to the QARANC Training Centre in Aldershot and transferred to regimental duties responsible for the basic training of Student Officers.
Following this prestigious role, Pat was promoted to Warrant Officer Class One and posted to the Territorial Army recruiting team in Chester enlisting civilians into medical and nursing roles. In 1991, she deployed to the first Gulf War as the senior Warrant Officer QARANC responsible for the welfare of nursing soldier ranks.
During her service, Pat was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross (ARRC) for her devotion and commitment in the performance of her psychiatric nursing duties.
For those that really knew Pat, she was a fiercely private and independent woman with a sharp Irish wit, a dry sense of humour, who could be unflinchingly direct. She was indeed a formidable character, with incredibly high standards. Yet she was compassionate, warm, and friendly and would always be there to help support you when needed.
A funeral service was held on 28th September 2023 in Eastbourne, attended by her family and close army friends who turned out in their berets and medals with the coffin in the QARANC drape, alongside the QARANC Standard.
Pat’s career was long, illustrious and memorable for so many reasons, and stories will be regaled by her family and friends for years to come. She was so revered and loved by her band of QA Scarlet friends who will forever miss her wit and sense of humour. She was indeed a loyal and true friend. May she be at rest and at peace.
Dottie Calderwood
Friends of Pat who attended her funeral