Page 55 - QARANC Vol 19 No 1 2021

Colonel (Retd) Dorothy ‘Norah’ Morton RRC
The Gazette QARANC Association 53
1928 – 2020
Born on 25 April 1928 into a working class family, her father worked all his life on the Railways. Norah was the second daughter in a family of three girls and two boys. The family moved to Nether Whitacre when she was small, attending the local village school, passing her entrance exam enabling her to attend an all girls high school in Nuneaton. From an early age Norah knew she wanted to be a nurse, and started training at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, followed by her general nurse training at the Leicester Royal Infirmary and then to Woolwich to become a midwife.
In 1954 Norah joined the QARANC as a Lieutenant. Her first posting was to Nanuki near Mount Kenya. During her off duty she would like to spend it on a farm with friends she had made. Nora was there during the Mao Mao emergency. One of her midwife friends was working at BMH Nairobi and did a job exchange for 18 months. Norah had a soft spot for East Africa, taking several trips by overnight train to Entebbe then to Lake Victoria, and a boat trip across Lake Kyoba to reach Murchinson Falls. Norah had a great love of travel both abroad and in the UK.
Norah’s next posting was to Sierra Leone in 1961, during the time of transition to independence. The Queen and Prince Philip visited on The Royal Yacht Britannia. She enjoyed her many invitations to balls and cocktail parties, her mum having to send out the necessary gowns. She then found herself as a ward sister in Tidworth and then in 1965 came a posting to BMH Dhekelia. It was here that on a trip with a fellow major to visit Nicosia they fell
foul of the Cypriot Police. They’d been warned ‘not to cross the Green Line’ and not having seen a green line they crossed it and were duly apprehended and frisked by the Police, and also had to explain themselves to the Commanding Officer the next day.
After this posting Norah was posted to Germany to BMH Munster and enjoyed all the culture it and Cologne and Dusseldorf had to offer. Off again this time to the Far East, Penang in Malaysia, where she was in charge of the Maternity Unit. 1971 saw Norah moving to Hong Kong which she found fascinating, and was grateful for the air conditioning on the children’s ward. Norah and her friend Kate enjoyed their trips via the ferry to the island for picnics and the wonderful views from the top, via the funicular railway.
Two further postings to Germany followed. Hostert, which still had the remains of gas chambers from WW2, then onto Iserlohn. Norah was so proud of herself for navigating across Europe without the aid of todays sat nav. Whilst there as Matron, Norah was asked by Brigadier Joan Moriarty to accompany her on a tour of the American hospitals.
It was whist in Iserlohn that she heard she’d been promoted to Colonel and later of her appointment to Matron of the Queen Elizabeth Military Hospital, Woolwich in 1981, which was the culmination of Norah’s career. It was here she was involved in nursing wounded soldiers returning from the Falklands War.
Shortly before her retirement in 1985 Norah was awarded The Royal Red Cross, by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. This was a very proud moment, which she was able to share with her mother,
who some 30 years earlier had been horrified by the notion of her daughter joining the Army.
Norah led a very active retirement, volunteering for Citizens Advice and as bereavement counsellor for the Church of Saint James. She worked in the Save the Children’s shop and joined the University of the Third Age taking many courses with them.
Norah kept up her links with the QARANC and for 10 years edited the Gazette and was a life member of the Association and the Midland Branch. Norah took great pride in her garden. Maintaining her friendships made over the many years, she never missed an opportunity to travel with family and friends. Her family were inspired by her and proud of Norah’s achievements.
It was during a break in the Covid lockdown that Lin Chater and I were able to do a visit bearing gifts from the Association, suitably masked and distanced of course. We noted Norah was not her usual self, was very slow and in pain, but managed to get to her back door to greet us and thanked us for our visit. We asked if there was anything we could do and not wanting to prolong her discomfort, we left.
Norah was a regular and very supportive member and never failed to thank the committee for their work. Sadly not long after our visit Norah was admitted to hospital. Her niece Gill informed me of her death on 1 November 2020.
Regrettably due to COVID-19 restriction we were unable to pay our respects.
Norah will be much missed by all her family, friends and colleagues in the Midland Branch. May Norah Rest in Peace.
My grateful thanks to Gill Sparrow for compiling most of Norah’s life story.
Sue Reading
Vice Chair Midland Branch