It was established as the Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service (RAFNS) in 1918, and became part of the permanent establishment as the Royal Air Force Nursing Service on 27 January 1921.

It received the Royal prefix after Princess Mary agreed to become its Patron in June 1923.

A history of the service was commissioned from the writer Mary Mackie and appeared in 2001.

[1] An updated and extended edition covering subsequent decades (including service in Afghanistan) was published in September 2014.

These were located at Akrotiri, Albrighton, Wolverhampton, Ely, Halton Nocton Hall, Lincolnshire, Aden, Uxbridge, Wegberg and Wroughton.