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A lovely and well-kept book

The remarkable true story of the Queen Alexandra frontline nurses in the Second World War. The amazing experiences of the Queen Alexandra nurses in the Second World War form one of the greatest adventure stories of modern times, and – incredibly – remain largely untold. Thousands of middle-class girls, barely out of school, were plucked from sheltered backgrounds, subjected to training regimes unimaginably tough by today’s standards, and sent forth to share the harsh conditions of the fighting services. They had to deal with the most appalling suffering, yet most found reserves of inner strength that carried them through episodes of unrelieved horror. Over 200 nurses died, torpedoed in hospital ships, bombed in field hospitals or murdered in Japanese prison camps. Dozens won medals for gallantry. From the beaches of Dunkirk, to Singapore and D-Day, they saw it all. Whether tending burned pilots from the Battle of Britain or improvising medical treatment in Japanese death camps, their dedication was second to none. This is their story.

Reviews:

Tyrer’s prose, tripped of purple passage or poetic flourish, reflects a brisk journalistic commitments to gathering the last testimonies in a tale well worth telling ― THE TIMES

The great strength of this powerful depiction of wartime nursing is the use made of contemporary accounts by the nurses themselves ― DAILY MAIL

Anyone seeking a definition of the genuinely heroic should read Nicola Tyrer’s moving account of Queen Alexandria’s Imperial Military Nursing Service ― EVENING STANDARD

Written with sensitivity, with personal anecdotes and illustrations, this is entertaining and inspirational ― TELEGRAPH & ARGUS

Written with sensitivity, with personal anecdotes and illustrations, this is entertaining and inspirational. ― TELEGRAPH & ARGUS

Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC; known as the QAs) is the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services.

Although an “official” nursing service was not established until 1881, the corps traces its heritage to Florence Nightingale, who was instrumental in lobbying for the support of female military nurses. The Army Nursing Service, which had been established in 1881, and which from 1889 provided Sisters for all Army hospitals with at least 100 beds, had only a small number of nurses in its employ. In 1897, in an effort to have nurses available if needed for war, the service was supplemented by Princess Christian’s Army Nursing Service Reserve (PCANSR). Nurses registered for the service and by the beginning of the First Boer War the reserve had around 100 members, but swelled its membership to over 1400 during the conflict. PCANSR eventually became the Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service. On 27 March 1902, Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS) was established by Royal Warrant, and was named after Queen Alexandra, who became its president. In 1949, the QAIMNS became a corps in the British Army and was renamed as the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps. Since 1950 the organisation has trained nurses, and in 1992 men were allowed to join.

The associated Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps Association is a registered charity. Queen Alexandra was president from 1902 until her death in 1925. The following year she was succeeded by Queen Mary.