Mrs M Gibbs  (nee Jebb) 

Margaret trained at Middlesex hospital from 1939 for 4 years and then joined the QAIMNS(R). She completed her basic training at Woolwich and then was posted to 94th General Hospital in Algeria. The hospital was made up of very large marquee like tents and the nurses slept 2 to a tent around the main Hospital site. Margaret’s memory is of a very colourful country and although hot, it was bearable especially as they could swim in the Mediterranean.  

The war was coming to a close when Margaret was posted to Hamburg in 1944. She recalls the utter devastation of the city and the plight of the civilian population. Following an invite from the Royal engineers, whose mess was in the Atlantic Hotel in Hamburg, Margaret met her future husband there. On returning in 1946 to the UK Margaret was de-mobbed, she married and settled down to family life.

Pte Olivia Moore is 18 years old and is the youngest trainee on the current HCA course at DMS (Whittington). She accompanied our Corps Representative Sergeant Major WO1 Debra Hamilton to visit one of our oldest QAs, 102-year-old Margaret Gibbs. 

'It was a lovely afternoon hearing about Margaret’s experiences and making comparisons with service life nowadays. Margaret and her son Peter were keen to hear about Pte Moore’s experience of Phase 2 training and her aspirations for the future. The visit was a rewarding experience for us both and truly emphasised what being part of the QARANC family is all about.'