Alison Spires

My military nursing career spanned 28 years service in both the Regular and Territorial Army. I have a first degree in psychology and a master’s degree in medical anthropology, where my dissertation examined the experiences of Army Medical Service volunteers in the Gulf War of 1990. I also studied for an MA in the History of Medicine, Science and Society at Birkbeck, University of London, and more recently, I have undertaken a Post Graduate Diploma in Conservation at Camberwell College of Arts (UnIversity of the Arts, London) in the year following my retirement. This combination of studies has enabled me to gain a unique understanding of the pyscho-cultural aspects of military nursing history, as well as giving me a deep appreciation of the value of finding and preserving the cultural heritage of British military nursing.
The historical research for my MA examined the link between the documented experiences of British Army nurses (and other women) who served in the Boer War 1899-1902, and the subsequent formation of the QAIMNS in 1902.
My current interests lie in documenting the experiences of British Army nurses to form a body of knowledge about what military nurses did and do and how their experiences affect them personally. Allied to that is an interest in the collective remembering of the contribution of women to British war efforts, and in their experiences.