NOMINAL ROLLS OF NURSING STAFF 1939-1940
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES, WO177/14
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The following pages contain transcriptions of nominal rolls of members of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and the Territorial Army Nursing Service who served with the British Expeditionary Force in France between September 1939 and June 1940. They vary in content, as although the women went out to France in an orderly manner, their return, as the Germans pushed up towards the coast in May and June 1940, was often rather disorderly. This leaves some of the rolls confusing, as nurses were transferred and attached to other units during the evacuation and the links below provide some explanation of the date and context of each list. Hopefully these nominal rolls will prove useful to those researching their family history, and help track relatives who may have served as nurses with the BEF during the Second World War.
1. Nominal Roll of all members of Q.A.I.M.N.S. and Q.A.I.M.N.S. Reserve, of the First Field Force contingent and list of dates of disembarkation of each unit.
It includes all units who arrived in France between the 10th and 25th September 1939. This is the only nominal roll that gives full fornames as well as surnames, so is particularly useful for identifying individual women. It's evident from later lists that there are also members of the Territorial Army Nursing Service included under 'Q.A.I.M.N.S. Reserve.' As in the previous war, the first members of T.A.N.S. went out to France attached to Q.A.I.M.N.S. - by the end of the year, this was corrected, and later lists show their correct designation.
2. Nominal Roll of members of Q.A.I.M.N.S. with the B.E.F., in order of seniority
[Dated 'Plus 99 days' and assumed to be on or about 11th December 1939]
A list of all members of the permanent 'regular' Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service working with the British Expeditionary Force in France on this date. Their full names and hospital attachments can be checked by referring back to list number one. It has been left in order of seniority rather than in alphabetical order, as I feel that 'seniority' was a powerful force and pecking order. It relates to the date that individual women joined the service, and to find an Assistant Matron a long way down the list shows that she must have been a high-flier! Some women are shown as having been awarded the Royal Red Cross or Associate Royal Red Cross, and these awards would almost certainly have originated during the Great War. All these women have entries in the Army List throughout their service.
3. Nominal Roll of members of Q.A.I.M.N.S. Reserve with the B.E.F., in alphabetical order
[Dated 'Plus 99 days' and assumed to be on or about 11th December 1939]
A list of members of Q.A.I.M.N.S. Reserve working with the British Expeditionary Force in France on this date. In most cases their full names and hospital attachments can be checked by referring back to list number one. However, by this time some women had already been invalided home, and some reinforcements sent out, so this list does not match the first in its entirety.
4. Nominal Roll of Territorial Army Nursing Service, B.E.F., in alphabetical order.
[Dated 'Plus 99 days' and assumed to be on or about 11th December 1939]
A list of members of the Territorial Army Nursing Service working with the British Expeditionary Force in France on this date. Many of these women appear in the original list [list number one] as members of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve with the First Field Force.
5. Units in order of disembarkation, October 1939 onwards, with full names of new arrivals
6. Nominal Roll of members of Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service, Q.A.I.M.N.S. Reserve and the Territorial Army Nursing Service, by unit, February 1940
The last nominal roll where all the units were fairly settled with their full complement of staff. One or two of the units had a skeleton staff, and were probably waiting for reinforcements, or perhaps were, at that time, surplus to requirements.
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