Elizabeth Simpson T.F.N.S.

[alf mcm]

I am researching Elizabeth Simpson, who was a Special Military Probationer in the Territorial Force Nursing Service {T.F.N.S.}, and am struggling to find some information. I know she died in 1917, is mentioned in the C.W.G.S. website, and she is buried in Uphall Cemetery, in West Lothian.

1. Given her 'rank' as a Probationer, would she have to be a qualified nurse before joining, or would she be starting from scratch?

2.If starting from scratch, how long would the training take?

3.What is the rank system in the T.F.N.S?

4.Would the senior members be classed as officers?

5.As a Territorial unit would members have to attend regularly, and would they have an annual 'camp', or something similar?

6. Did women have to apply to join the T.F.N.S., in the same way as they had to apply to join the W.A.A.C?

7. I understand that T.F.N.S. service records are held at the National Archives. Does anyone know if they will be put online, and how can I find out if Elizabeth Simpson's records have survived?

8. Probably a stupid question, but, as a nursing services, did the T.F.N.S. have any male nurses?

I know I have asked a lot of questions, but answers to even some of them would be of a great help to me.

Regards,

Alf McM

[Sue Light]

1. Given her 'rank' as a Probationer, would she have to be a qualified nurse before joining, or would she be starting from scratch?

2.If starting from scratch, how long would the training take?

3.What is the rank system in the T.F.N.S?

4.Would the senior members be classed as officers?

5.As a Territorial unit would members have to attend regularly, and would they have an annual 'camp', or something similar?

6. Did women have to apply to join the T.F.N.S., in the same way as they had to apply to join the W.A.A.C?

7. I understand that T.F.N.S. service records are held at the National Archives. Does anyone know if they will be put online, and how can I find out if Elizabeth Simpson's records have survived?

8. Probably a stupid question, but, as a nursing services, did the T.F.N.S. have any male nurses?

Hallo Alf

1/2. I don't have the information you have, but I assume she was a Special Military Probationer (SMP) which was the TFNS equivalent of a VAD, the difference being that SMPs were employed under contract to the War Office, rather than having a connection to the Joint War Committee (British Red Cross and St. John Ambulance Association). SMPs were a product of war - none within the TFNS beforehand, and the women were untrained, or with limited training (as with VADs). They were, on the whole, given a little more training than VADs which was normally three months' on the wards of a General Hospital. SMPs and VADs served under different contracts although these amounted to exactly the same conditions of service.

3. The Territorial Force Nursing Service had the same grading structure as QAIMNS Reserve. There were Staff Nurses, Sisters, Matrons, and for each of the 23 (later 25) Territorial Force General Hospitals there was a Principal Matron who was normally the civil Matron of a large general hospital. And in wartime the SMPs came into being, but post-war the service reverted to one of trained nurses only.

4. All trained nurses of QAIMNS, the Reserve and the TFNS were accorded the status and, to a degree, the privileges of officers. As far as the wartime untrained staff were concerned they were given the same status as far as the Army was concerned, although not the same professional status within the hospital framework.

5. The TFNS was formed as part of the Haldane reforms of 1908. The nurses who joined (approx 91 per area/TF hospital) carried on with their usual civil employment, and apart from the Matrons their only commitment was to report on mobilisation in accordance with the orders which they all held. There was no annual camp or weekly/monthly training. The Matrons did one week in a regular military hospital every other year, to familiarise themselves with Army routine and paperwork.

6. I don't think you should even think in terms of comparison between the TFNS and WAAC . I've got a brief article on my website about the formation and organisation of the TFNS which is a reduced version of one that was in 'Stand To!' a couple of years ago. It explains about joining the TFNS pre-war. During wartime the women either contacted the War Office direct, or applied through their own civil hospital to a local committee specially set up for recruiting to the TFNS. Most was done with local application and interview by the Principal Matron of the hospital they were applying to.

Territorial Force Nursing Service - an outline

7. About three-quarters of TFNS files have survived and are held at TNA in class WO399. Because SMPs were untrained, and therefore did not serve post-war, very few of their files were retained during the 'weeding' process of the 1930s. However there are still a few there, and there is an index which can be viewed online. There are three Elizabeth Simpsons there. One can be ignored as she had a number allocated to QAIMNS, but the other two are possibilities. They are:

Elizabeth Simpson WO399/14501

Elizabeth M. Simpson WO399/14502

There's no way of knowing if one of them refers to the woman you're researching without looking at them - often there's not a lot of personal information in them, but normally enough to form a decision of yes or no. I think that it's extremely unlikely that these will be put online - if ever Officers' files are put online these might follow, but I can't imagine it happening even in the distant future.

8. No

Sue

[alf mcm]

Hello Sue,

Many thanks for your excellent reply. I now know a lot more about the TFNS than I did before. Elizabeth was in fact mentioned as a Special Military Probationer on her medal record card. She was not awarded any medals, so presumably did not serve abroad.

Regards,

Alf

[alf mcm]

I have found out that Elizabeth Simpson was her married name. Her maiden name was Atkinson, and there is a medal record for an Elizabeth Atkinson {Staff Nurse} at Documentsonline. Elizabeth married before the war. Would she have been in the T.F.N.S. under her maiden name or married name?

Regards,

Alf McM

[Sue Light]

She would undoubtedly have been employed under her married name of Simpson, and her records held in that name. This can also be confirmed by the fact that CWGC have her as Simpson. In the case of women who married half-way through the war, their records are held in their married name, but are sometimes cross-referenced to their maiden name.

Sue

[alf mcm]

Thanks again, Sue,

Regards,

Alf

[Jim Strawbridge]

Hello Sue,

Many thanks for your excellent reply. I now know a lot more about the TFNS than I did before. Elizabeth was in fact mentioned as a Special Military Probationer on her medal record card. She was not awarded any medals, so presumably did not serve abroad.

Regards,

Alf

I have the inscription off her headsone “In loving memory of Elizabeth Atkinson beloved wife of Alexander Simpson R.F.A. who died at 2nd Western General Hospital Manchester 10th May 1917 Aged 31 years. Harry Atkinson died 29th Dec. 1922 aged 69 years. Ellen Anderson wife of Harry Atkinson died 26th October 1921 Aged 65 years. For God, for King and Country”. As far as medals are concerned I know that a Matron Elizabeth Simpson, TFNS, was presented with the Royal Red Cross, 2nd class at Buckingham Palace in March 1917 but suspect that this may have been a different Elizabeth Simpson. Perhaps Sue knows.

[alf mcm]

Hello Jim,

Thanks for the inscription. I would have thought she would have served in a Scottish hospital, since she was in a Territorial unit. Perhaps she volunteered to serve in Manchester. I have still tio find out how she died. Could it have been as the result of an air raid? Her medal record card records her date of death, so she is certainly not the Matron. CWGC and SDGW both show her as a Nurse, but according to her medal record card she was Special Military Probationer.

Regards,

Alf

[Carmania]

Alf

The IWM has a photograph of her and the caption under it states that she died of "illness contracted on duty".

Aled

[Jim Strawbridge]

Hello Jim,

Thanks for the inscription. I would have thought she would have served in a Scottish hospital, since she was in a Territorial unit. Perhaps she volunteered to serve in Manchester. I have still tio find out how she died. Could it have been as the result of an air raid? Her medal record card records her date of death, so she is certainly not the Matron. CWGC and SDGW both show her as a Nurse, but according to her medal record card she was Special Military Probationer.

Regards,

Alf

I don't think that she was serving in a Scottish Hospital. As a Territorial she would have been sent to wherever she was needed and in this case Manchester. Like a regular she would not have been able to pick and choose where she served.

[alf mcm]

Aled,

Thanks for the information regarding cause of death. I am extremely interested to know that there is a photograph of her and would like to bget as copy. Was this included in a book, and if so, do you know it's title?

Jim,

Thanks again, I am sure yiou are right and Elizabeth wouldn't have any say in where she went.

Regards

Alf