Oral History Gallery

Incidents and case studies ashore 4 - Impact of the Falklands on medical services, 1982

Claire Taylor

Service: 1968 - 1996

Rate: QARNNS Matron-in-Chief and Tri-Service Diretor of Education

Claire joined the QARNNS (Queen Alexandra Royal Naval Nursing Service) in 1967 as a State Registered Nurse and State Certified Midwife. She worked at Royal Naval Hospital M'Tarfa in Malta, RNH Haslar and HMS Ganges until 1973 when she left the service to work in Papua New Guinea.

On rejoining in 1975 she became a Sister Tutor and undertook a number of teaching posts primarily at RN Medical Services School Haslar. In 1987 she was appointed to the new Tri-Service body at MoD in London. During the Gulf War she was based in London as Deputy Matron-in-Chief. In 1994, she became Matron-in-Chief, together with the post (in 1996) of Tri-Service Director of Nurse Education.

Hear about the impact that the Falklands War had on medical personnel in the UK.

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Extract Text (Duration 1.24)

A number of the students in the school and the Medical Assistants had friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, even husbands and wives actually serving in the Falklands, and the stress on them; because nothing like this had happened really, to such an extent that involved the medical services, probably since Korea; a lot of listening was required and trying to keep an air of normality, and particularly, because all the ships that were down there had increased the number of medical personnel onboard, when the ships were sunk, we all knew who the medical people were.Â So it was a time of great concern for everybody and a lot of people did come down to talk, whether they were in the school, whether they were students, or whether they were from the hospital.