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Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserve) Imperial Model T typewriter.


numbersix

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I believe this Imperial Good Companion Model T typewriter was used by Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service (Reserve) staff, based on the QA/R on the cover. It is in good working order, found in a bric-a-brac shop about 25 years ago.

IMG_6551.JPG.735be01e879683f8cedfca4a54a95319.JPGIMG_6550.JPG.982ae74d7d723c9e611b6c81218edc0d.JPGIMG_6553.JPG.7175ed24a5bab66a19b318b1bfeef412.JPGIMG_6554.JPG.6a8d3fe486ea6733adf6b9098182a0ff.JPGIMG_6552.JPG.258ca87cb95599fb8e738725f15c704b.JPG

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What a cool find! Have been doing a bit of looking, and indeed -- M.E. Johnston 208537 was gazetted as a Sister (nurse) in Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service Reserve on 30 May 1941.

 

She's listed in the UK & Ireland Nursing Registers for 1937 as follows:

Johnston, Mary Eugenie

[Address] Chappell Barn Cottage, Bures, Suffolk.

Sister, General Hosp., Ramsgate, since 1935. 

[Qualifications] Pro., Guy's Hosp., Dec., 1931 to Sept., 1935. Cert. 3-1/2 yrs. training. S.R.N.

 

It looks like she may have passed away in Kent, England, in 2000. However, that may not be her.

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Thank you, that's amazing to know. I found the typewriter in Portsmouth and for a long time assumed it was an Army one. A friend pointed out the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service were also known, informally, as the QAs but that was as far as I had ever got.

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I've written to the QARANC Association Heritage site to see if they can help with any other info, as they have a lot of research about nurses. I'll let you know if anything turns up. So glad you posted this, as it's been really interesting to see. This is an aspect of the UK services that I've never really learned about.

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Thank you, I don't know a lot about the QAs either, so any further information is of great interest. I do know that part of their uniform was a cape. During the Second World War, and after, some nurses sewed Regimental shoulder patches and formation badges on the inside. There are quite a few of these, one is at the (British) National Army Museum here (from the Korean War), and I seem to remember one was shown on Antiques Roadshow a fair few years ago. I think the badges and patches were given by Servicemen whom the Nurses had cared for or been stationed with. I'm not sure how commonly this was done.

This example is from the internet:

QAsCape.jpg.7569e983e730c21bda9b88fd802952d0.jpg

 

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