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BMH IserlohnInformation and history about the British Military Hospital in Iserlohn Germany which was formerly Argonne Barracks: BMH Iserlohn was one of several BAOR (British Army Of The Rhine) army hospitals in Germany. It closed in March 1994. BMH Iserlohn was housed in Argonne Barracks which was a German Calvary and Armoured Regiment building from the 1930s. In the post World War Two years Argonne Barracks became No 6 British General Hospital in 1946. 
My thanks to Sue Light at Scarlet Finders for the photograph above of BMHIserlohn which was taken in the winter of 1974. QA Nurses From BMH Iserlohn The first junior ranks of the newly formed QARANC to receive an overseas posting were posted to BMH Iserlohn in 1951. The Regiment in the area at this time were the 1st Battalion The Queen's Royal Regiment (cited in the book Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (Famous Regts. S)  by Juliet Piggott).
The photograph below is of Dorothy Maat-Davey (nee Davey) wearing the No 2 dress uniform of the 1960s. She served in the QARANC at BMH Iserlohn in West Germany in 1962. She told me a funny story of when her boyfriend phoned the hospital to talk with her ward sister. Rather than call her by her proper surname he asked for her by her nickname which was Captain Twitty! Needless to say Dorothy got into a wee bit of trouble, but despite this error by her boyfriend she married him! 
QA Angela Coote has fond memories of her time in Germany: 
BMH Iserlohn was wonderful, there were still a few Canadians there and we enjoyed huge steaks and pancakes and maple syrup for breakfast. I made many lifelong friends there and met my husband there who was one of the walking wounded in the Rehab Unit. I have in recent years nursed QAs that served in Singapore during the Japanese Invasion. I recall we had a rude version of Corp Motto which had to do with crutch and candida but it escapes me now! Read more of Angela's memories on the Cambridge Military Hospital page. Help Needed: Qaranc.co.uk would like to add a page about the QA lanyard but need some help. Can anyone please help with a photo of the lanyard on the uniform and a photo of just the lanyard? It would also be helpful if anyone can give some tips on how to site and fit the lanyard. Please use the e-mail address on the contact page. Thank you! Sisters In Arms: British Army Nurses Tell Their Story Sisters In Arms: British Army Nurses Tell Their Story  by Nicola Tyrer is an account of the QAs during the two World Wars. It includes first hand accounts of the Queen Alexandra nurses who were in the dressing stations, casualty clearing stations and field hospitals of Dunkirk, D Day, the fall of Singapore and many more locations where the QAIMNS served.
Buy Now.
Sisters In Arms: British Army Nurses Tell Their Story is also available as a talking book read by the actress Barbara Flynn and Sian Thomas. Buy Now. 
View More British Army Nursing Books - with free delivery available. If you have a memory of BMH Iserlohn or other time or place during your service in the QAs and would like it to appear at the QARANC website then please contact us and help keep the QA history accessible to our readers. 
The photo above is of the Children's and Maternity Ward of BMH Iserlohn taken in 1960. Pictured with the QARANC Nursing Sisters and RAMC personal are some German nursing staff. Please get in touch if you recognise any of the nurses. 
At times patients were transferred to BMH Iserlohn by German Air Force helicopter. The photograph above shows one such German Air Force helicopter patient transfer to the BMH. The sports field at the British Military Hospital was used as the airfield and landing pad. 
The picture above is the Eagle statue that was situated at the main gate of BMHIserlohn. It now stands in the grounds at the far end of the former ward blocks. BMH Iserlohn was situated on the site of a former German Kazerne (barracks), hence the magnificent Eagle relic. The photo below shows QA Carol Little standing below the Eagle and was taken by her friend Angela Coote. 
Former QA Angela Coote has kindly sent these delightful collection of QA photos at BMH Iserlohn taken during the summer of 1971 and 72.The photographs include Pauline Martin, Carol Little, Rene Berwick and Walter Holden with Angela Coote. The BMH Iserlohn Naafi, the Rehab unit and the gate to the QA billets can be seen in the pictures: 
The three photos below were kindly provided by John who served in the 1st Royal Tank Regiment (1RTR) at Osnabruck and at Minden with 658 Squadron Army Air Corps (AAC) in the early 1970's. The buildings in the background were long low buildings that accommodated service personnel whist having rehabilitation treatment at BMH Iserlohn. In the 1950s they were used by the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC): 
BMH Iserlohn was shared with Canadian Forces until 1970. Between 1978 and 1993 BMH Iserlohn had the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) role of 31 Field Hospital in support of 1 (BR) Corps. In 1985 BMH Iserlohn closed for six years and the building was refurbished and then opened as a modern hospital for the British Army. During the Gulf War of 1990 to 1991 staff at BMH Iserlohn worked alongside the staff of local German hospitals and Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Force) medical staff. This was known as Operational Friendship. On the 24 March 1994 BMH Iserlohn closed after a flag lowering ceremony and presentation of a Fahnenband. Guests included General Artz Doktor Paul the senior Medical Officer in the Bundeswehr who presented the CO of BMH Iserlohn with the Fahnenband. The parade was led by Captain R N Wilson of the RAMC. Brigadier C G Callow L/RAMC the Commander Medical BAOR performed the inspection. Padre Peter Clements performed the service of dedication, address and presentation. The three flags of the Army Medical Services (AMS), QARANC, RAMC and RADC, were lowered by representatives of each Corps as The Last Post was played. This included Sergeant Sandy Stewart of the RAMC. Lt Sue Whitehead QARANC led the march past of the QARANC Platoon. Sadly none of the QARANC.co.uk team had a German posting and would love to expand this page with more details about this former army hospital and include a photograph. If you are a former or serving member of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps we would love your help. If you would like to contribute any info, photographs or share your memories of BMH Iserlohn then please contact me. Below are some memories of serving or being nursed at BMH Iserlohn: Hello I am an ex Sgt GR Munroe RCAMC (Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps) here - just discovered your website (BMH Iserlohn) and was amazed and delighted to see the pics and information. I was (X-Ray Tech) - worked for Col Fava and Lt Col Guthrie (Cdn) back in 1961 - 1962, and have a lot of fond memories for the old place. I still have a copy of the program for "The Mikado" which was organized by a number of the British and Canadian units in the area. My buddy Sgt 'Dusty' Miller and I did the scenery and props in the old Engineer shed (no heat - early spring) for two weeks - armed with a jug of Bacardi's. Usually wound up the evening singing our bawdy version of the Mikado's lyrics...? Can't believe the scenery turned out as well as it did! The play was booked for five nights at the Soldatenheim but was so popular they had to extend it for a few more nights. Great talent! Another pleasant surprise was the picture of the Maternity ward staff in 1960. My oldest daughter Janet (she hates that), was born there on 3 Jan 1960. My other daughter Linda was born there the following year. I Emailed them the picture and text and got quite a reaction! The staff must have made quite an impression on them - they are both in the medical field - Janet is Radiologist at the Medical College of Georgia, and Linda is Lab Manager in British Columbia. Thank you BMH Iserlohn gang for looking after my wife and daughters. If I could, I would treat you all at the Zum Baren (more memories). Anyways - for those who are still with us from that era, good health, many thanks and all the best for the future. It was good while it lasted! Yes, and pass along all my best wishes to a great crew. Also I wonder if anyone remembers (late 50s early 60s) Dennis Harwood. He was a transfer from RAMC (RadTech) to RCAMC and was Lt Admin officer in 1 CBMU. He was a major when he passed away a few years ago in Barrie, Ontario. Also, when I was working in a small hospital in Ontario I met a doctor, Ian Irvine, who was, in addition to being a Scot, a medic (RAMC), and had just left Korea before I arrived, then a RadTech in BMH Iserlohn (late 50s), but had just left before I got there, then got his MD and moved to Canada where we finally collided. Anyway - nice to jog the memory banks. Thanks for the reply and talk to you again. Jerry Munroe A British Army Nurse In the Korean War A newly published book about the QARANC is 
A British Army Nurse In the Korean War
by Elizabeth Jilly McNair. QA Sister McNair saw active service in Korea and Japan and this book is based on her letters home and photographs she took during her 18 months
spent nursing at the British Commonwealth General Hospital in Kure, Japan and the British Commonwealth Zone Medical Unit in Seoul, Korea.
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If you would like to contribute to this page, suggest changes or inclusions to this website or would like to send me a photograph then please e-mail me. The photos and pictures on this page have been kindly sent to us for inclusion on this page. If you would like to contribute photographs then please contact us. Findextrawork 
Since leaving the QA's we have done an assortment of self employed work and jobs, some which only take an hour a week, others have been full time. We
have written about these at our other website Findextrawork at
www.findextrawork.co.uk
where we share the information for free to help others with information and resources about earning more money.
Visit Findextrawork for more information.
For the official Army QARANC webpage please go to www.army.mod.uk/qaranc/index.html For the QARANC Association website please go to http://www.army.mod.uk/qaranc/qaranc_assn/index.htm |
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