The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry: A Potted History.
The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry was originally formed in 1907. It's conception was the brainchild of Captain Edward Baker of the RAMC. Baker had been a veteran of the Sudan campaign and the Boer wars and his views on medical provision to the wounded were heavily influenced by these first hand experiences. Baker found himself reasoning that an individual rider could retrieve a war casualty from where he fell in the field and bring him in for medical treatment far faster than could an ambulance, thus resulting in more lives being saved. On this premise, Baker proposed the formation of a womens' organisation that would act as a first aid link between the front and the field hospital. The proposal was approved and the organisation was given the title of Yeomanry because it's members operated on horseback. Although the FANYs were actually affiliated to, rather than a part of the British Army, each woman was to be fully trained not only in first aid,but also military fundamentals such as signaling and there was a system of rank and military style discipline. This also meant that each member of the FANYs was self funded and provision of uniform and personal effects was the responsibility of the individual member and not the army. There was therefore a prevalence of members coming from a particular upper/middle class social background and this was reflected in field training exercises and camps being run more like social events than military ones.
With the outbreak of war in 1914, the FANYs were made very aware of the prejudices held against them as a viable resource for the war effort by the establishment, who felt that the war was the business of men and that the FANYs were not to be taken too seriously. The FANYs remained resolved to do their part and when a request for medical assistance was made by the Belgian army to prop up it's own flagging medical services, the FANYs hastily responded, much to the disapproval of the British military establishment. In the service of the Belgian army, the FANYs managed to prove their worth and when the British Expeditionary Force itself came under strain, the FANYs presence was requested. The FANYs found themselves responsible for the provision of not only first aid and medical transportation, but also field kitchens and concert parties.
Initially, the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry was operating with horses and horse drawn ambulances. As it became clear that the war was going to be a long haul, rather than a flash in the pan, the FANYs graduated to motorised ambulances provided by the Red Cross (It was not uncommon for runs between lines and clearing stations to be timed and treated as impromptu drag races!).
The FANYs continued in their ambulance role to the end of the war and beyond. During WW2 the FANYs were still going strong while also functioning as a front organisation for female agents assigned to the Special Operations Executive. The organisation still exists today although it has undergone a rebranding to the 'Princess Royals Volunteer Corps'.
With the outbreak of war in 1914, the FANYs were made very aware of the prejudices held against them as a viable resource for the war effort by the establishment, who felt that the war was the business of men and that the FANYs were not to be taken too seriously. The FANYs remained resolved to do their part and when a request for medical assistance was made by the Belgian army to prop up it's own flagging medical services, the FANYs hastily responded, much to the disapproval of the British military establishment. In the service of the Belgian army, the FANYs managed to prove their worth and when the British Expeditionary Force itself came under strain, the FANYs presence was requested. The FANYs found themselves responsible for the provision of not only first aid and medical transportation, but also field kitchens and concert parties.
Initially, the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry was operating with horses and horse drawn ambulances. As it became clear that the war was going to be a long haul, rather than a flash in the pan, the FANYs graduated to motorised ambulances provided by the Red Cross (It was not uncommon for runs between lines and clearing stations to be timed and treated as impromptu drag races!).
The FANYs continued in their ambulance role to the end of the war and beyond. During WW2 the FANYs were still going strong while also functioning as a front organisation for female agents assigned to the Special Operations Executive. The organisation still exists today although it has undergone a rebranding to the 'Princess Royals Volunteer Corps'.
