Page 64 - QARANC Vol 14 No 10 2015

62 QARANC THE GAZETTE
Vera Kathleen Jones
Vera Jones was born in England on 16th December 1916 then went to New Zealand aged six years returning to the UK aged 14 years.
Vera entered nursing when she was 17 years old training at St John’s convalescent home for sick children Brighton and completed her general nurse training at the King George Hospital Guildford (1935 -1938), followed by District Nurse Training in London. At the outbreak of WW2 in 1939 she joined the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Nursing Service Reserve (QAIMNS) from 1939 -1945. During the war she served in Palestine and India and her personal account has been published in her book called ‘A Time to Remember’. This was a compilation of the letters she had written to her family during the war, which her sister had kept.
After the war Vera joined the QA’s as a Regular Officer and qualified as a Registered Nurse Tutor at the Royal College of Nursing on a secondment from the Army.
She served in Libya, Palestine, India, Suez Canal Zone and Malta. In 1954 Vera resigned from the QARANC due to the ill health of her parents and returned to civilian nursing as Principal Tutor at King George Hospital and then at the Royal Surrey Hospitals.
Vera was very committed to the QARANC Association transferring from Headquarters roll to the Welsh Branch in 2004. She attended as many events as she could. One year, aged 91 she travelled by train to Swansea on her own, and a number of the members brought along their copy of her book to sign. Even the Restaurant owner wanted a copy for his wife.
Vera was a very well known resident of Llandrindod, involved in the church and towns events. One annual event in the town is the Victorian week held at August Bank holiday. Vera would be dressed in Victorian costume (a different one every day) and act as a guide around the church and town. Members of the branch often went to see her, and indeed saw her in her full Victorian regalia one year.
During her retirement Vera was a staunch member of the local church and gave communion to those unable to attend Church, even to residents at the Care home where she eventually resided herself.
For the last few years of her life Vera resided in a BUPA Care Home in the town, and enjoyed visits from the church members, and friends. She was always so pleased to see and chat with members from the Association, sharing her memories. Vera died peacefully at the nursing home on 22 January at the age of 98 years and a Requiem mass was held, which was extremely well attended.
The Memorial to Margaret Mayne
Margaret Mayne ARRC
Staff Nurse
North Staffordshire Infirmary, Stoke on Trent 1907 - 1914.
VAD Nurse in WW1
Military Hospital Harwich Aug 1914 to April 1917
She died on April 29th 1917 in the Colchester Infectious Diseases Hospital
• Margaret Mayne was born, Ballinamallard, County
Tyrone, Ireland in 1882.
• The 1911 census gives Margaret Mayne, age 29 as a
staff nurse, North Staffordshire Infirmary, Hartshill, Stoke
on Trent
• Margaret was a Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) Nurse,
as she was mobilised as soon as war was declared on 4
August 1914.
• Margaret was awarded the ARRC (a rare accolade for a
VAD nurse) “for special devotion and competency in the performance of actual nursing duties” in 1917
• She died of Cerebral-spinal meningitis on 29 April 1917 three days after admission to the Infectious Hospital, Colchester. (Note the plaque gives the 20th). The speed and severity of her illness are compatible with a bacterium as the cause. She was a nursing sister in the Military Hospital at Harwich and it is highly likely that she picked up the infection from one of her patients
• The Royal Red Cross is a military decoration awarded for exceptional services in military nursing. Queen Victoria established the award on 27 April 1883 with a single class of member, a second class, Associate, was added during World War 1 in 1917. The award is made to a fully trained nurse of an officially recognised military nursing service who has shown exceptional devotion and competency in the performance of actual nursing duties, over a continuous and long period, or who has performed some very exceptional act of bravery and devotion to duty. As with all military honours the awards were announced in the London Gazette