Page 65 - The Gazette Autumn 2023

Royal Red Cross recipient event
On St Georges Day in 1883 the Royal Red Cross (RRC) was formally instituted making it 140 years old on 23 April 2023.
The first awards, which totalled 31, were gazetted on 25 May 1883, of which one was to Florence Nightingale who showed exceptional service and dedication in nursing sick and wounded service personnel.
The remainder were to Army and Navy nurses and in 1917 it was agreed a further medal was merited and the Royal warrant was amended to include the Association Royal Red Cross (ARRC) and whether at home or abroad it continues to be both an honour and a privilege to wear the medal, which remains an award uniquely bestowed to Military Nurses.
To date there has been no gathering of RRC/ARRC recipients to share stories, celebrate nursing and acknowledge the sacrifices made by military nurses. Taking inspiration from the Victoria Cross, George Cross and Queens Voluntary Reserves Association (QVRM now KVRM) it was felt that the working knowledge of nursing and its history within the Army should be celebrated and shared.
In May a private room was booked at the Victory Services Club in London for the initial inaugural event and known RRC recipients were invited. Due to limited availability and some affected by train strikes on the day, 11 recipients attended the event chaired by Col (Rtd) Andrea Lewis (QARANC Association’s newly
L-R: Christine Platt, Caroline Whittaker, Simon Davies, Maggie Hodge, Jean Cowan, Andrea Lewis, Marilyn Williams, Tess Grieves, Kathy George, Gary Martin
appointed Colonel Commandant).
It was inspiring to share stories and discuss the
aspiration to make this an annual event and expand the invitation to include the Association Royal Red Cross (ARRC) recipients and in the future our Tri-Service and even international colleagues, to recognise their exceptional service.
Also, and more importantly how we can raise awareness to the next generation of nurses and across wider Defence the importance and privilege of being awarded this prestigious medal.
Thank you to everyone who supported the event and we look forward to meeting in 2024, where we will also celebrate 75 years of the QARANC.
If any RRC/ARRC recipients are willing to be part of a working group to develop the concept further and plan gatherings, please contact me at tessagrieves1970@ gmail.com.
Tessa Grieves RRC, Lt Col (Rtd)
The Gazette QARANC Association 65
A charming meeting of QARANC past and future
Dear Gazette,
As the youngest trainee on my HCA course (aged 18), I was offered the amazing opportunity to accompany Sergeant Major WO1 Deborah Hamilton to go and visit one of the oldest QARANC members, Margaret Gibbs who is 102. We also had the pleasure of meeting her son Peter.
Whilst visiting Margaret I learned many things about her life as a QA and all the amazing experiences that she gained in her years of service. She spoke about her deployments and the memories that she gained from them.
I spoke to her about my current position at the time in training and talked her through how the training is laid out now and what it consists of, which we then compared to her training which was similar but at the same time it had different elements compared to what I am doing.
Margaret asked me about my future aspirations, and I replied that I would like to become a nurse and specialise in the Emergency department (ED). She explained her job role and how it could link to my career, and this was very interesting as she
taught me a few things.
It was very interesting to compare her career
and my potential future as it gives you an insight into the development of care in the military over the years and how far healthcare professionals have come.
Before leaving we took a photo and Margaret wished me good luck with the rest of my course and my future career, which I then thanked her.
Private Olivia Moore