QARNNS Making History

In 1973, eight women, all QARNNS made history as the first females to undertake the Officer's New Entry Course at Dartmouth.

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"It was an amazing experience and for a brief time we were celebrities, appearing on national television and radio as well as appearing in all the national and local newspapers...... All in all it was a heady experience...... We had a pretty easy time of things, unlike our counterparts today, for whom we have the greatest admiration as the compete on equal footing with the male counter parts."

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Four of those women are returning to Dartmouth after 50 years, in September, where they met the first female commanding officer of BRNC Dartmouth - see report below.

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UPDATE - VISIT TO BRNC DARTMOUTH 50 YEARS ON - 18 July 2023

It was a lovely day full of reminiscences and the years just slipped by. We could hardly believe that half a century had passed. Whilst clearly there have been vast changes in the Royal Navy including more women with all sorts of possibilities opening up for them, as well as all the technological advancements,  it was so gratifying to see how much tradition still plays a part in the Service in which we were proud to have been a very small part.

We had hoped to meet the first female in command of the College, but unfortunately she had been called away urgently at the last minute. Nevertheless we were initially entertained by members of the College staff with glasses of fizz and pastries in the museum, where it must be said, our photo resides as part of a timeline exhibition of the College’s history!!! 

We were delighted to meet two QARNNS Officer Cadets currently in training, who joined BRNC  January 2023, due to pass out in August. It was such a privilege to meet them and hear how they undertake the same training as everyone else. We were open mouthed hearing about their various exercises and challenges. It is of course a completely different world from anything we knew and our admiration for today’s Nursing Officers is infinite. However, they appeared fascinated by how it had been for us, particularly about Naval hospitals at home and abroad, and how we managed to work in our ward uniform!!  

It was fortunate that the day was fine after a spell of inclement weather, so we were able to walk around outside and take in the wonderful view of the River Dart. It was suggested that we re create the famous picture of us on the wall, but we thought better of it, so just leant against it!  Marilyn Jones  

Please see newsletter for the full report.