Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

The Second World War ‘Italian Campaign’ R.R.C. group of eight awarded to Principal Matron B. E. O’Dwyer-Thomas, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps, late Territorial Army Nursing Service

Royal Red Cross, 1st Class (R.R.C.), G.VI.R. 1st issue, silver-gilt, gold and enamel, reverse dated ‘1944’; 1939-45 Star; Africa Star; Italy Star; France and Germany Star; Defence and War Medals; London Hospital School of Nursing Badge, 46 x 46mm., silver and enamel, reverse inscribed, ‘Beatrix E. O’Dwyer-Thomas, June 1923-June 1926, Aug. 1927’, by Pinches, London, in case of issue; together with two identity disks; two Q.A.R.A.N.C. cloth shoulder badges; two pairs of epaulettes; a pair of cuffs; two cord lanyards and a Q.A.R.A.N.C. shoulder cape named in ink to ‘Miss O’Dwyer Thomas’, extremely fine (lot) £650-750

This lot was sold as part of a special collection, The Collection of Medals to the Medical Services formed by Colonel D.G.B. Riddick.

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R.R.C. London Gazette 24 August 1944 (Italy). ‘Temp. Matron Beatrice Ernestine O’Dwyer-Thomas, Territorial Nursing Service’.
Recommendation reads, ‘This unit (92 General Hospital) was the first British Hospital with its sisters to arrive in this theatre of war. At this time the fighting line was only a short distance away, thus the onus of making provision for the skilled nursing of the sick and wounded of the whole British force fell on Miss O’Dwyer-Thomas. After distributing detachments of her nurses to the forward medical units, with the remainder she hurriedly organized the running of an improvised 400 bed hospital to deal with a heavy influx of malaria patients, many of whom were gravely ill. The units’ equipment not having been disembarked this entailed much improvisation to enable nursing to be carried out at all. Later Miss O’Dwyer-Thomas had to organize the nursing service of the hospital in Naples when owing to the enemy having destroyed the water, light and sewage services, the difficulties in nursing the patients were prodigious. Frequent air-raids called for the highest courage and calmness which Miss Thomas showed in soothing and giving confidence to the very many desperately ill patients who could not be moved to underground shelters. At this time the hospital was treating several hundred more patients than its establishment allowed for, without any extra staff and with some still detached to other units. The fact that this hospital admitted nearly 10,000 patients in under two months gives an indication of the superhuman efforts that were required of the Matron to organize the nursing of such a tremendous rush of sick and wounded to one hospital. All through this unbelievably trying time Miss O’Dwyer-Thomas showed great qualities of energy and sympathy in the highest degree. She was moreover carrying out duties far beyond those of her rank and it is surprising that her health did not give way under the strain’.

M.I.D. London Gazette 6 April 1944.


Sold with a quantity of associated material, including: card forwarding box with accompanying slip, addressed to ‘Principal Matron B. E. O’Dwyer-Thomas, 92 Wade Hill, Winchmore Hill, London N21’; M.I.D. certificate; Standing Orders Booklet for the T.A.N.S., 1934; letters and notes of congratulation for the award of the R.R.C. and M.I.D.; letter of congratulation on appointment to Sister in T.A.N.S., 17 December 1936; a 1939 Christmas card photograph of Queen Mary, in envelope addressed to the recipient as Matron of ‘Fairfield, Marie Celeste Annex of the London Hospital, Beech Road, Reigate, Surrey’; a form of agreement for employment with the T.A.N.S., addressed to the recipient at ‘20th (Eastern) General Hospital, Kimbolton, Hunts., dated 27 December 1939; a letter of release from active military duty with the honorary rank of ‘Principal Matron’, dated 19 October 1945; a quantity of photographs.