Territorial Army Nursing Service Registers

Description

Contains 4 registers listing details of nurses enrolled in the Territorial Army Nursing Service [formerly the Territorial Force Nursing Service]. The registers contain personal information, details of enrolment and training, and information on where the nurses are currently working.

Biography or history

The Territorial Force (TF) was an amalgamation of various volunteer forces, set up after the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act in 1907. Alongside the TF was the Territorial Force Nursing Service (TFNS), officially inaugurated in 1908. On its establishment, the TFNS had 2,117 members in total, with different roles: Matron-in-Chief, Principal Matrons, Matrons, Sisters, and Nurses. This number increased dramatically during the First World War, reaching 7,117 members.


Territorial Hospitals were set up in key centres across the country. One of these was the 2nd Northern General Hospital, which was set up at the new City of Leeds Training College, Becketts Park, in 1912. As the main Territorial Hospitals reached capacity during WWI, auxiliary hospitals were needed. In Leeds this led to the establishment of the East Leeds War Hospital, which incorporated Killingbeck Military Hospital.


In 1921, the Territorial Force was changed to the Territorial Army. The TFNS followed suit to become the Territorial Army Nursing Service (TANS). Another change came for the Service in 1939, when the TA merged with the regular Army. This led to the TANS being merged with the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS), but it retained its distinct title.


The TANS was eventually disbanded in 1950, and the QAIMNS became the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC), which is still in operation.



Sources: S.T. Anning, 'The General Infirmary at Leeds Volume II: The Second Hundred Years 1869-1965', (E&S Livingstone Ltd, Edinburgh & London, 1966); Anne Summers, 'Angels and Citizens: British Women as Military Nurses 1854-1914', (Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, London: 1988); Ian Hay, 'One Hundred Years of Army Nursing: The Story of British Army Nursing Services from the time of Florence Nightingale to the Present Day' (Cassel & Co Ltd, London: 1953); Richard Wilcocks, 'Stories from the War Hospital', (Leeds: 2014).

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