Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service

A History of the Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service

1st June 1918: Creation of the Royal Air Force Nursing Service (RAFNS).

Aeromed 1919 in a DH9A

Afghanistan 1919

November 1918. Miss Joanna Margaret Cruickshank appointed as Matron-in-Chief age 43.

Dame J M Cruickshank

January 1921 Royal Air Force Nursing Service established as a permanent branch of the RAF by Royal Charter.

Mosul Iraq

1922 RAFNS Nurses posted to Iraq.

JBFH Hinaidi, Iraq

Aeromed in a Vickers Vernon 1926 (Iraq)

14 June 1921 HRH Princess Mary becomes first Royal Patron. The Service is renamed the Princess Mary’s Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS). (See

HRH Princess Mary HRH Princess Mary 1944

HRH Princes Mary’s Gift to all serving troops in WW1 1914

1925 First Aeromed service created at RAF Halton.

November 1930 Miss Joanna Margaret Cruickshank retires as Matron-in Chief age 55. Created a Dame of the British Empire in 1931.

25 April 1941 Defence (Women’s Forces) Regulations grant emergency commissions. PMs wear rank but are addressed by professional titles; e.g., Matron, Sister etc. Married PMs are allowed to stay, for the duration of the War, in the PMRAFNS.

Publicity shot of PM 1944

1943 1,126 PMRAFNS Sisters staff 31 RAF Hospitals and 71 Station Sick Quarters.

Aeromed in an Avroe Anson

12 June 1944 Mollie Giles and Fluffy Ogilvie the first women to enter Normandy with 50 MFH. Subsequently they were awarded both awarded the MBE.

June 1944 onwards 300,000 casevacs carried out, the largest ever carried out in the history of the Service.

Casualty clearing station 1944

Aeromed Normandy 1944

7 Oct 1948 Parachute Training for PMs.

Publicity shot of the first PMs to undergo parachute training 1948

Publicity photo and official press notification of the training

1 February 1949 Women’s’ service integrated into the RAF. PMs hold commissions and wears female officer rank but continues to use professional titles in the clinical environment.

1950 King George V approves the appointment of the Princess Royal, Patron of the PMRAFNS, as Air Chief Commandant.

1951-2 Korean War. PMs used as Flight Nursing Officers for the first time. Sea trooping of causalities and long haul aeromeds begin.

Flight Nursing Officer and Flight Nursing Attendant await patients for Aeromed in a Hastings.

1959 Aeromed training begins at RAF Lyneham.

Aeromed arrivals RAF Lyneham

Dingy drill training

Potential Flight Nursing Officers in training

October 1962 SRN training introduced into the RAF.

1965 Death of HRH Princess Mary, the Princess Royal, Air Chief Commandant PMRAFNS.

1966 Appointment of HRH Princess Alexandra as Royal Patron and Air Chief Commandant PMRAFNS.

HRH Princess Alexandra

March 1967 SEN training introduced into the RAF.

1968 Commencement of the reduction in the number of RAF hospitals in line with reduced commitment of the RAF aboard.

Aeromed of a Polio victim

1980 Unification of the nursing service. Male RAF nurses integrated into the PMRAFNS. Female officers adopt male rank titles.

Publicity shot of the ward at 35000ft

1982 Falklands War. Aeromed chain via Montevideo and Ascension.

Out-bound from Montevideo Arrival at RAFH Wroughton

Arrival at RAF Brize-Norton

2 January 1985 PMs become part of the tri-service Defence Nursing Services.

March 1987 Conversion training for SENs begins in the PMRAFNS.

1988 SEN training discontinued.

1990-1 Gulf War. Aeromed chain begins in Saudi Arabia, RAF War Hospital Murharraq, PMRAFH and RAF Brize Norton.

1992 First male Matron (Wg Cdr B Williams) appointed at RAFH Wegberg. RAFH Ely Closes.

Air Commodore (Retd) B Williams instructing

1995 First DNS and MIC PMRAFNS appointed (Gp Capt B Williams).

1995 PMs sent to the Bosnian War.

Critical patient transfer Bosnia

31 March 1996 RAFH Wegberg, Halton and Wroughton closed. PMRAFH becomes TPMH, a tri-service hospital.

RAFH Wroughton 1946 RAFH Ely

TPMH 2003

1998 Closure of Royal Hospital Haslar announced – last remaining military hospital in the UK.

1999 Kosovo War. PMs sent.

2002 Ex Saif Sareea 2. 25 bedded RAF medical facility attached to Role 3 Army hospital. Two desert landing strips utilised to evacuate casualties from forward hospitals.

25 bedded ward Ex SS2

Casevac ExSS2

September 2002 War in Afghanistan, post 11 September 2002. Aeromed chain via Oman, RAF Akrotiri and RAF Brize Norton. Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (Birmingham) used as the receiving hospital.

VC10 in Aeromed war role fit to pick Norwalk virus victims from Kabul

RAF Chinook at an improvised landing zone Afghanistan

March 2003 Gulf War 2. Aeromed chain via Kuwait, RAF Akrotiri ( TPMH used as a holding facility for injured troops, prior to onward move to the UK). RAMP system used to distribute injured throughout NHS hospitals in the UK.

VC10 Critical Care Air Support

Aeromed critical care equipment

Back to Top