The Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the beginning of the Second World War, remaining active until integrated into the Royal Navy in 1993. WRNS included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics.
Air commodore is a air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure.
Colonel-in-chief is a ceremonial position in a military regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family.
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs, was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during the Second World War. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.
The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) is a specialist orthopaedic hospital located in Stanmore in the London Borough of Harrow, run by the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust. It provides the most comprehensive range of neuro-musculoskeletal health care in the UK, including acute spinal injury, complex bone tumour treatment, orthopaedic medicine and specialist rehabilitation for chronic back pain. The RNOH is a major teaching centre and around 20% of orthopaedic surgeons in the UK receive training there.
Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps was the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services.
The London Fever Hospital was a voluntary hospital financed from public donations in Liverpool Road in Islington, London. It was one of the first fever hospitals in the country.
Dame Emma Maud McCarthy, was a nursing sister and British Army matron-in-chief.
Dame Joanna Margaret Cruickshank, was a British military nurse and nursing administrator. She founded Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service in November 1918 and served as its first Matron-in-Chief from 1921 until her retirement in November 1930.
Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Navy. The Service unit works alongside the Royal Navy Medical Branch.
Dame Sarah Elizabeth Oram, was a senior member of the Army Nursing Service and the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS). She served as Principal Matron, Nursing Inspector in the QAIMNS, and was attached to the British Expeditionary Force in France from 1914 to 1915 and subsequently as Acting Matron-in-Chief, QAIMNS, in the Eastern Mediterranean Expeditionary Force from 1915 to 1919 during the First World War.
Dame Emily Mathieson Blair, was a British military nurse and nursing administrator who served as Matron-in-Chief of the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (1938–43), Joint War Committee (1943–47) and the British Red Cross Society (1947–53).
Air Commandant Dame Helen Wilson Cargill, was a British nurse and Royal Air force officer. From 1948 to 1952, she was Matron-in-Chief of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.
Dame Katherine Christie Watt, was a British military nurse, nursing administrator and civil servant.
Air Commandant Dame Veronica Margaret Ashworth, was a British nurse, midwife, and Royal Air Force officer. From 1963 to 1966, she served as Matron-in-Chief of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.
The Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Hospital Halton, was the first Royal Air Force hospital to be built that was dedicated to air force personnel. Located on what was then the largest of the RAF camps at RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire, England, the hospital treated over 20,000 patients during the Second World War and was the first place in the world to use penicillin on a large-scale. The hospital continued in use throughout the Cold War, only closing in 1996 due to defence cuts.
Air Commodore Irene Joyce "Joy" Harris, was a British nurse and Royal Air Force officer. Having trained as a nurse and midwife, she joined the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) in 1950 and rose through the ranks to become its head. From 1981 to 1984, she was Director of Nursing Services (RAF) and Matron-in-Chief of the PMRAFNS.
Iris "Fluffy" Bower was a British nurse who served in the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service during Second World War. She was one of only two women in Normandy during the first few days of the D-Day campaign, and attended patients at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Prior to D-Day, she had been in two different RAF hospitals which had suffered from bombing raids.
Air Commandant Dame Roberta Mary Whyte, was a British nurse and Royal Air force officer. From 1952 to 1956, she was matron-in-chief of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.
Gertrude Mary Richards, was a British nurse and military nursing leader during the First World War. She was matron and principal matron in the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service from 1904 until her retirement in 1919.
United Kingdom 
Royal Air Force 
