HMS Warrior 1860 hosted memorable reunion and book launch for the Falklands Hospital Ship Uganda
A memorable reunion for the Hospital Ship SS Uganda was held onboard HMS Warrior 1860, in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, on Sunday April 18th, to mark the day The Hospital Ship left Gibraltar for the Falklands in 1982. This special event also saw the launch of Nicci Pugh’s book ‘White Ship - Red Crosses. A Nursing Memoir of The Falklands War’.
“One of the early key decisions made by the Ministry of Defence after the sailing of the Task Force to take the Falkland Islands back from the invading Argentines in April 1982, was to requisition a P&O cruise ship, the SS Uganda, as a hospital ship, and position her in the war zone. This was to save many lives.”
--Major-General J.H.A. Thompson C.B. O.B.E. (Commander of 3rd Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, during the Falklands War 1982).
Part of the reason this reunion was so special was that the Queen Alexandra’s Royal Naval Nursing Service (QARNNS) nursing personnel onboard The Hospital Ship Uganda, were the only female military personnel working within the Combat Zone during The Falklands War. At this time, QARNNS Naval Nurses were the first female Royal Navy (RN) junior ratings in history to serve at sea[1].
Their amazing story is being told for the first time in the book ‘White Ship – Red Crosses’ following their inaugural reunion in 2008 to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Falklands conflict.
“(Nicci) and her colleagues have managed to convey in this book the very essence of professional men and women working and existing together at sea, and pulling together for the good of the team and for the effective achievement of the mission aim. In 1982, this was quite exceptional. In 2009, it is happening today and every other day, wherever the Royal Navy is needed as a force for good around the globe.”
--Commodore Carolyn Stait CBE RN
Author Nicci Pugh, then a 31-year-old Senior Nursing Officer, has written and collated an inspiring book of personal accounts capturing the human spirit with both humour and compassion, as well as providing a comprehensive and historically useful account of the efforts of the medical teams and crew aboard the British Hospital Ship during the Falklands War in 1982. The book also details the many transformations of the ship, as well as the trials of the Royal Navy Medical and Nursing staff fighting against time to convert the P&O Cruise Ship Uganda to operate successfully as a floating hospital.
“Much has been written regarding the battles & the soldier''s point of view during The Falklands War, but the perspective of the medical teams has often been overlooked & ignored. This is a story that needs to be told & listened to, not just because it is a great book & a very good read but because of its powerful message. WHITE SHIP - RED CROSSES is a triumph for all injured servicemen, & the unrelentingly hard-working nurses & medical teams, without whom my survival would not have been possible.” --Simon Weston OBE. Former patient treated on board The Hospital
Ship Uganda.
HMS Warrior 1860 was chosen as the location for the reunion and the book launch, as Nicci Pugh explains it is on board a ship where they all feel most at home with each other and Warrior adds the extra magic to make for a memorable occasion.
The event was attended by those who served, sailed or were medically treated on board The Hospital Ship Uganda during The Falklands War 1982: QARNNS, P&O, Royal Navy Medical & Technical Teams, Royal Marines Stretcher Bearers/ musicians, 1/7th Gurkhas and 16th Field Ambulance included.
The majority of attendees were members of the South Atlantic Medal Association. A percentage of the profits from the sale of the book will be donated to SAMA82 (www.sama82.org.uk).
Notes for Editors
[1] QARNNS Nursing Sisters had served on previous British Hospital Ships, but had then been supported by male RN orderlies and Sick Berth Attendants (SBAs).
Full details of the book:
White Ship - Red Crosses. A Nursing Memoir of The Falklands War
by Nicci Pugh
Melrose Books, 29 March 2010. £13.99.
ISBN 978-1-907040-49-8. 192 pages.
