Military nurses honoured with memorial window
19 Oct 09
A service recognising the dedication and work of thousands of military nurses has been held in St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast and was attended by the Countess of Wessex, Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps (QARANC).
Service of dedication for the memorial window in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast
[Picture: Cpl Gabriel Moreno RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
Over 500 serving and retired men and women and their families attended the interdenominational service where the dedication of a memorial window in recognition of the service of the QARANC in the preservation of life in peace and war took place.
Her Royal Highness was greeted by Dame Mary Peters, Lord-Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, and went on to meet Colonel (Retd) Rosie Kennedy, Colonel Commandant, QARANC, and The Very Reverend Dr Houston McKelvey, who conducted the service.
Before joining the congregation Her Royal Highness had the opportunity to meet a number of guests attending the service including Brigadier George Norton, Commander 38 (Irish) Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Anton Philpott, Commanding Officer of the Duke of Connaught Unit (DCU), Major Bunnie Foulkes, Chair of the Northern Ireland Branch of the QARANC Association, and Major (Retd) Judy Evans, Regimental Secretary of the QARANC.
For the formal dedication of the window, the Dean escorted the Countess of Wessex to the south side of the sanctuary where the window was installed in 2007.
Members of the congregation at the service of dedication in St Anne's Cathedral, Belfast
[Picture: Cpl Gabriel Moreno RLC, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]
The Countess then petitioned the Bishop of Connor, The Right Reverend Alan Abernethy, to dedicate the stained glass memorial, depicting the Corps' Badge, in remembrance of the service given in times of peace and conflict by members of the Corps.
Following the service Her Royal Highness was guest of honour at a QARANC reception in the Cathedral Hall where Major Shirley Laverick-Stovin, Second-In-Command Operating Theatres DCU, presented a number of guests who attended the service.
Her Royal Highness accepted a gift of an engraved crystal rose bowl presented by Corporal Ellen Taylor in recognition of the visit.
The Board of St Anne's Cathedral approved the installation of a window honouring the role of the Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps, and its predecessors, in peace and in war worldwide.
It was installed in the south side of the sanctuary in September 2007, opposite the memorial window for the Royal Army Medical Corps which was installed in October 2006.
The centre of the window illustrates the Corps' Badge and below is the inscription 'In Memory of all Military Nurses', both of which are set into a delicate grey French glass. The border shows the Corps' colours interrupted by Celtic Crosses.