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New military nurses records spanning 110 years

You can now find out if your ancestors are among the 8,969 people who were awarded the Royal Red Cross nursing award. These records span the period 1883 to 1994.

The Royal Red Cross was first awarded in 1883 ‘for special exertions in providing for the nursing, or for attending to, sick and wounded soldiers and sailors’. The award was so special that only 246 women had been considered worthy of the honour by the start of WWI. This rose to 6,741 by 1922, when new classes of medal were introduced.

Men became eligible for the first time in 1976, so it’s possible to find both male and female ancestors in these records.

This release follows the publication of five other sets of military nurse records on findmypast.co.uk in November 2011.

Sue Light provided findmypast.co.uk with these records. The image on this page is also courtesy of Sue.

Search the military nurses records now

Military Nurses 1856-1940 records published

You can now search for your ancestors in 4,000 records for military nurses on findmypast.co.uk

The records cover the vast period of 1856 to 1940 and comprise five main record sets:

• Army Nursing Service: a small but significant set of 238 nurses of often quite genteel origin, born in the 19th century



• Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service: records of 783 nurses, born between 1859 and 1904
• Royal Hospital Chelsea Nurses: records of 165 largely untrained nurses, born between 1839 and 1876, who served at the hospital for pensioned soldiers between 1856 and 1910
• Scottish Women’s Hospital: records of 1,575 women (and men) who were stationed in continental Europe during WWI
• WWII Military Nurses: details of 1,244 nurses who served in France with either Queen Alexandra’s Imperial Military Nursing Service, or Queen Alexandra’s Reserve, or the Territorial Army Nursing Service, during WWII

If any of your ancestors were nurses, this collection of records could provide you with essential information to add to your family tree.

Sue Light provided findmypast.co.uk with these records. The image on this page is also courtesy of Sue.

Search the Military Nurses records now