Nurse Jackie Hayward's testimony follows the rapid transition from a British intensive-care unit to the Falklands hospital ship SS Uganda. She volunteers, flies by Hercules to Uruguay, and transfers by helicopter to a ship whose captain had expected male nurses. The deployment also placed her near a husband serving with 42 Commando, though the circumstances made reunion improbable. The account captures both the improvised character of the medical mobilization and women's return to an embarked naval nursing role.
Chapter · 20:27-23:30
Naval nurses deploy aboard SS Uganda
A Royal Naval nurse recalls volunteering, flying south, and joining SS Uganda as one of its first female naval nurses since the Second World War.