Veronica Ashworth

Air Commandant Dame Veronica Margaret Ashworth, (25 December 1910 – 12 January 1977) was a British nurse, midwife, and Royal Air Force officer. From 1963 to 1966, she was matron-in-chief of Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service.

Early life and education Ashworth was born on 25 December 1910. During the Second World War, she served in Algiers, Tunisia and Italy, with a mobile field hospital. She was promoted to wing officer on 1 January 1958, awarded the Royal Red Cross in the 1959 Queen's Birthday Honours, and made group officer on 1 January 1961. 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. She was promoted to air commandant and made an Honorary Nursing Sister to the Queen on 1 September 1963, and appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1964 New Year Honours. She stepped down as Matron-in-Chief in 1966, and retired from the Royal Air Force.