Air Commandant Dame Veronica Margaret Ashworth, (25 December 1910 – 12 January 1977) was a British nurse, midwife, and

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

officer. From 1963 to 1966, she served as Matron-in-Chief of

Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force. It was established as the Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service (RAFNS) in 1918, and became part of the permanent establishment ...

Early life and education

Ashworth was born on 25 December 1910. She was educated at St Katharine's School, an all-girls

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...

, Oxfordshire. She trained as a nurse at

St Bartholomew's Hospital, London St Bartholomew's Hospital, commonly known as Barts, is a teaching hospital located in the City of London. It was founded in 1123 and is currently run by Barts Health NHS Trust. History Early history Barts was founded in 1123 by Rahere (died ...

from 1930, becoming a

state registered nurse Nursing in the United Kingdom has a long history. The current form of nursing is often considered as beginning with Florence Nightingale who pioneered modern nursing. Nightingale initiated formal schools of nursing in the United Kingdom in the l ...

(SRN) in 1934, and then moved to

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Maternity Hospital, becoming a

state certified midwife Midwives in the United States assist childbearing women during pregnancy, labor and birth, and the postpartum period. Some midwives also provide primary care for women including well-woman exams, health promotion, and disease prevention, family pla ...

(SCM) in 1935.

Military career

Ashworth joined the

(PMRAFNS) in 1936, and after training was appointed to the permanent service on 1 April 1937. During the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, she served in

Algiers Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...

, Tunisia and Italy, with a mobile field hospital. Ashworth served as

matron Matron is the job title of a very senior or the chief nurse in several countries, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and other Commonwealth countries and former colonies. Etymology The chief nurse, in other words the person ...

of the hospitals at

RAF Wroughton RAF Wroughton is a former Royal Air Force airfield near Wroughton, in Wiltshire, England, about south of Swindon. Ministry of Defence aviation activity ceased in 1972. The airfield now belongs to the Science Museum Group and is home to the ...

and

RAF Uxbridge RAF Uxbridge was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station in Uxbridge, within the London Borough of Hillingdon, occupying a site that originally belonged to the Hillingdon House estate. The British Government purchased the estate in 1915, three years ...

in England, and at

RAF Fayid RAF Fayid (LG-211) is a former military airfield in Egypt, approximately south of Ismailia (Al Isma`iliyah) and northeast of Cairo. It was formerly a major Royal Air Force airfield built before World War II, and later used by the Egyptia ...

in Egypt. She was awarded a permanent commission in the

on 1 February 1949 with the rank of

flight officer The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and also an air force rank in several Commonwealth countries, where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of flig ...

. She was promoted to wing officer on 1 January 1958, and to group officer on 1 January 1961. On 4 August 1963, she was appointed Matron-in-Chief of the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service and made an

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

air commandant. She was promoted to air commandant on 1 September 1963. She stepped down as Matron-in-Chief in 1966, and retired from the Royal Air Force. In the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours, Ashworth was appointed a

Member of the Royal Red Cross, First Class The Royal Red Cross (RRC) is a military decoration awarded in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth for exceptional services in military nursing. Foundation The award was established on 27 April 1883 by Queen Victoria, with a single class of Memb ...

(RRC). She was made an Honorary Nursing Sister to the Queen (QHNS) on 1 September 1963. In the

1964 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1964 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 1 January 1964 to celebrat ...

, she was appointed a

Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(DBE).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ashworth, Veronica 1910 births 1977 deaths Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service officers Members of the Royal Red Cross British women nurses British midwives People educated at the School of St Helen and St Katharine