Page 8 - QARANC Vol 17 No 2 2019

6 The Gazette QARANC Association
Chief Nursing Officer (Army) Symposium and 70th Anniversary Commemorations
March 2019 saw 250 Regular, Reserve and Retired personnel gathered in the Midlands to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the formation of QARANC. Chief Nursing Officer (Army) held her biannual symposium to commemorate the past, celebrate the present and prepare for the future. Her Royal Highness the Countess of Wessex was the guest of honour, presenting the annual QARANC awards and prizes and was introduced to a cohort of healthcare assistants, student nurses and Military Nurse Practitioners (MNPs). HRH
HRH the Countess of Wessex and the QARANC award winners
enjoyed presentations from Dr Youri Yordanov about the Paris terrorist attacks in 2015, his tag line being ‘blood is for bleeding and saltwater is for pasta’. The MNPs presented their deployments and exercises to The Oman, Norway, Kenya and Poland, a culmination of an MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice, the Post Graduate Medical Officers course and most importantly 20 years’ Army nursing experience; all five MNPs had started their careers as a soldier Army nurse.
General Holcomb, Chief Nurse of the United States Army Nurse Corps
Sergeant Muzvidziwa with the Band of the Royal Corps of Signals
70th Anniversary Sunset Dinner
joined a team of inspirational speakers, sharing the challenges faced by the USANC that were not dissimilar to those in the UK. Professor Christine Hallett spoke about the advances in nursing practice in the First World War; Chief Nursing Officer (England), Dr Ruth May, enthused about Team CNO, and improving the image of nursing as a career choice and Lieutenant Colonel (Retd) Richard Chadwick outlined the LIVEX major incident exercises between
A retired member’s perspective on the Sunset Ceremony to Commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the QARANC
On Monday 25 March 2019 members from the QARANC Association Northern Ireland Branch travelled to England to take part in the 70th Anniversary Commemorations at the National Memorial Arboretum. Some serving members attended the CNO Symposium and the Glover Lecture, while the retired members spent the day visiting the Arboretum.
The weather was beautiful and we were fortunate to spend the lovely sunny day exploring all the memorials honouring those who served, ensuring that we spent some time at the QARANC Memorial, which was a very emotional experience for many of us.
The evening saw us all attend the Sunset Ceremony at the Arboretum, which was very moving. The ceremony service was led by The Venerable Clinton Langston QHC CF, The Chaplain General. Afterwards we were hosted at a wonderful dinner with other serving and retired members, making new friends and acquaintances. All of
Northern Ireland Branch members with serving personnel at the 70th Anniversary commemorations
us were so impressed and honoured that we were involved with this event and also being in the company of serving members.
The following day we attended the thanksgiving service held at St George’s Chapel DMS Whittington. Padre Jason Clarke MBE CF gave an address to the congregation, and the sermon was positive and uplifting. Afterwards we attended a curry lunch,
once again all enjoying the company of new friends and comrades. We headed to the airport that evening, to travel home with enduring and fond memories of our time as a Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps nurses, our time spent serving our country and this wonderful experience at the National Memorial Arboretum.
Linda Reed
Northern Ireland Branch