Oral History Gallery

Extract Text (Duration 1.40)

And then there were probably about ten male nurses, ratings, ‘cause still at that time of the Falklands QARNNS was a service for females only, still in... in '82. We also had Royal Marine Bandsmen onboard whose war role is that of stretcher-bearers and they were wonderful. They had a very difficult job because all the stretchers were just carry canvases and they had to get the patients out of the helicopters, down this rather steep ramp into the triage area where we had beds set up with stretchers on top. Once the patients had been assessed, and unless they were walking obviously, the Marines then had to carry them either to us, to the intensive care ward or down into the dormitories which was a very difficult exercise, not much space getting them down below. They had to carry all the patients from the wards to the x-ray department, from the wards to theatre and... and obviously back again. They... we also taught the Marines on the way south some basic nursing duties, washing patients, taking temperatures and this sort of thing, and they were absolutely wonderful, marvellous.