Wing Officer Ashworth in the 1960s.

Air Commandant Dame Veronica Margaret Ashworth, DBE, RRC (25 December 1910 – 12 January 1977) was a British nurse, midwife, and Royal Air Force officer. From 1963 to 1966, she served as Matron-in-Chief of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.[1][2]

Early life and education

Ashworth was born on 25 December 1910.[1] She was educated at St Katharine's School, an all-girls private school in Wantage, Oxfordshire.[2] She trained as a nurse at St Bartholomew's Hospital, London from 1930, becoming a state registered nurse (SRN) in 1934, and then moved to Leeds Maternity Hospital, becoming a state certified midwife (SCM) in 1935.[1]

Military career

Ashworth joined the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) in 1936, and after training was appointed to the permanent service on 1 April 1937.[3] During the Second World War, she served in Algiers, Tunisia and Italy, with a mobile field hospital.[2]

Ashworth served as matron of the hospitals at RAF Wroughton and RAF Uxbridge in England, and at RAF Fayid in Egypt.[2] She was awarded a permanent commission in the Royal Air Force on 1 February 1949 with the rank of flight officer.[4] She was promoted to wing officer on 1 January 1958,[5] and to group officer on 1 January 1961.[6] On 4 August 1963, she was appointed Matron-in-Chief of the Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service and made an acting air commandant.[7] She was promoted to air commandant on 1 September 1963.[8] She stepped down as Matron-in-Chief in 1966, and retired from the Royal Air Force.[1]

In the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours, Ashworth was appointed a Member of the Royal Red Cross, First Class (RRC).[9] She was made an Honorary Nursing Sister to the Queen (QHNS) on 1 September 1963.[10] In the 1964 New Year Honours, she was appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).[11]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ashworth, Air Commandant Dame Veronica Margaret". Who Was Who. Oxford University Press. 1 December 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u151853. Retrieved 11 March 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Dame Veronica Ashworth". The Times. No. 59907. 14 January 1977. p. 18.
  3. ↑ "No. 34385". The London Gazette. 2 April 1937. p. 2127.
  4. ↑ "No. 39043". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 October 1950. p. 5161.
  5. ↑ "No. 41266". The London Gazette (Supplement). 27 December 1957. p. 7596.
  6. ↑ "No. 42241". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 December 1960. p. 32.
  7. ↑ "No. 43069". The London Gazette (Supplement). 26 July 1963. p. 6459.
  8. ↑ "No. 43107". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 September 1963. p. 7675.
  9. ↑ "No. 41727". The London Gazette (Supplement). 5 June 1959. p. 3732.
  10. ↑ "No. 43097". The London Gazette (Supplement). 30 August 1963. p. 7363.
  11. ↑ "No. 43200". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 1963. p. 8.
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