QAMNSI Nurses

[kjharris]

On 01/08/2019 at 00:03, PJS said:

I do wonder how the Nurses I am looking for joined the QAMNSI as temps? Surely they must have already been in India which I would think should preclude any TFNS nurses from the UK being transferred. It seems to me that the TFNS nurses would have either stayed with the TFNS or perhaps transferred to QAIMNS - but I don't understand how they would transfer to QAMNSI which was run by the Indian Government.

 

Peter 

 

Hi Peter

I have an Australian born nurse who was TFNS then QAMNSI - my database says (although possibly not 100% accurate as not my area of expertise)

Ruth E D Darbyshire, trained Wakefield St Private Hosp Adelaide, South Australia 1896-1899, was in England when the war broke out, having worked at St Thomas' Hosp then matron Royal Infirmary Derbyshire; matron St Mary's Hosp Paddington 1913-14;

War appointments: Principal Matron 2 London GH, St Mark's College, Chelsea 1914; Matron St Mary's Hosp Paddington Aug16; Chief Superintendent Lady Minto's Indian Nursing Svc Ajmer 1917; head of QAMNSI 5yrs at Simla and Delhi in India; awarded ARRC; Kaisir-i-Hind Medal (Gold); Dame of Grace of St John of Jerusalem cMar18; post war was a bigwig in British nursing circles.

[PJS]

6 hours ago, kjharris said:

 

Hi Peter

I have an Australian born nurse who was TFNS then QAMNSI - my database says (although possibly not 100% accurate as not my area of expertise)

Ruth E D Darbyshire, trained Wakefield St Private Hosp Adelaide, South Australia 1896-1899, was in England when the war broke out, having worked at St Thomas' Hosp then matron Royal Infirmary Derbyshire; matron St Mary's Hosp Paddington 1913-14;

War appointments: Principal Matron 2 London GH, St Mark's College, Chelsea 1914; Matron St Mary's Hosp Paddington Aug16; Chief Superintendent Lady Minto's Indian Nursing Svc Ajmer 1917; head of QAMNSI 5yrs at Simla and Delhi in India; awarded ARRC; Kaisir-i-Hind Medal (Gold); Dame of Grace of St John of Jerusalem cMar18; post war was a bigwig in British nursing circles.

 

Thanks for that. Miss Ruth Evelyn Darbyshire definitely was a bigwig. I looked at her Service Record (as best I could through the watermark) and below is what I found:

 

TFNS Service Record:

Joined TFNS in 1913

Promoted to Principal Matron 2nd London Gen Hospital TFNS Aug 4, 1914

Resigned as Principal Matron 2nd London Gen Hospital TFNS March 2, 1917 when Appointed Chief Lady Superintendant of Lady Minto's Nursing Association in India

[Time in India Missing]

Promoted to Principal Matron of TANS in April 1, 1923

Appointed to various Nursing Board/Committee positions in 1927

Resigned as Principal Matron of TANS in 1935 due to ill health

 

And there is short a bio of her here and more information here.

It backs up everything in your database listing for her except being in the QAMNSI (which of course doesn’t mean she wasn’t).

 

My original comment was about the unlikeliness (ordinary) TFNS nurses transferring directly to QAMNSI and so I would still say that I have not seen any evidence that shows that any of them did that, whereas I did see some that switched to QAIMNS. Miss Darbyshire, if she did serve in the QAMNSI, got there indirectly and in a large part because she was already in a very senior position of another Indian nursing organization.

 

Peter