They came from a wide range of backgrounds including towns and cities as well as the countryside. Click on the image on the right to view a sample document. Search the Women’s Royal Air Force service records (AIR 80) for a person who served as an airwoman. These are not available to members of the general public, but next of kin may request access to them. v3.0. Women Who Served A NARA online exhibit commemorating the women who served in the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron (WAFS/WASP). You need to sign in to tag. Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events.Sign up, All content is available under the Open Government Licence When the Royal Air Force (RAF) was created in 1918 a number of WAAC volunteers entered the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF). Members of WASP became trained pilots who tested aircraft, ferried aircraft, and trained other pilots. Try to find out the woman’s maiden name, if she subsequently married. It was created as an auxiliary unit, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) on 15 May 1942 by Public Law 554, and converted to an active duty status in the Army of the United States as the WAC on 1 July 1943. Women Military Aviators This organization promotes and preserves the history of women pilots, navigators, and aircrew who served in the military. For the Army Council Instruction which formally established the WAAC see WO 293/7, War Office, Queen Marys Army Auxiliary Corps, 1918-1920, War Office, Womens Army Auxiliary Corps, 1917-1918. There are no online records at The National Archives relating to the Women’s Land Army. The WRAC's creation marked the first time that women were subject to all sections of the Army Act. This is a brief guide to researching records of the Women’s Land Army. It reverted to its original name in 1949, and finally merged with the Royal Air Force in 1994. var switchTo5x=true; v3.0, except where otherwise stated, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps service records 1917-1920, Friends of The National research. About nine thousand women's files survived and these were stored by the Ministry of Defence in alphabetical order and later filmed under contract by the Public Record Office. The Women’s Royal Air Force was formed in 1918, though records of its predecessors go back to 1914. v3.0, except where otherwise stated, Friends of The National The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) was formed in 1949. Archives, Open Government Licence Archives, Open Government Licence Enter the tag you would like to associate with this record and click 'Add tag'. The WAC was disbanded in 1978, and all units were integrated with male units. Listen to some oral history recordings by members of the Women’s Land Army on the Imperial War Museum website. The Women's Army Corps (WAC) was the women's branch of the United States Army. The originals are not available for the public to view. Following the f… The records were held along with other First World War service records at the War Office Record Store at Arnside Street and consequently suffered severe damage as the result of a German air raid in September 1940. Nicola Tyrer, ‘They Fought in the Fields: The Women’s Land Army – The Story of a Forgotten Army’ (Mandarin, 1997), For quick pointersTuesday to Saturday The WAAC was organised in four sections: Cookery, Mechanical, Clerical and Miscellaneous; nursing services were discharged by the separate Voluntary Aid Detachments, although eventually an auxiliary corps of the Royal Army Medical Corps was set up to provide medical services for the WAAC. MH 106 is a representative sample and is not complete. I think the tag '' should be removed from: Subscribe now for regular news, updates and priority booking for events, All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0, except where otherwise stated, Read about our fair use policy and why we are doing this, WO - Records created or inherited by the War Office, Armed Forces, Judge Advocate General, and related bodies, Division within WO - Armed Forces Service Records, Women's military services in the First World War, About our Many army service records between 1914 and 1920 no longer exist as they were destroyed by German bombing in 1940; only about 7,000 Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps service records survive. No First World War service records for Women’s Royal Air Force officers are known to survive. Armed forces service records containing records of individuals' service in the British armed forces. Please Note: Digital copies of these records … These records contain a variety of material on a number of different forms. This is a brief guide to researching records of the Women’s Land Army. 1-86-NARA-NARA or 1-866-272-6272, Reference at Your Desk -- Archives Library Information Center, Biography and Genealogy Master Index (BGMI), "Band of Angels: Sister Nurses in the Spanish-American War", "The Story of the Female Yeomen during the First World War", "Wearing Lipstick to War: An American Woman in World War II England and France", "Will the Real Molly Pitcher Please Stand Up? Browse minutes of county committees, collections of photographs, recruiting posters and selected files in MAF 59. Demobilisation commenced following the Armistice in November 1918 and on 1 May 1920 the QMAAC ceased to exist, although a small unit remained with the Graves Registrations Commission at St Pol until September 1921. To access these records you will either need to visit us, pay for research (£) or, where you can identify a specific record reference, order a copy (£). An archive has been established at Texas WomanÂ’s University in Denton, Texas. Comradeship, esprit de corps, benevolence and preserving traditions. Alternatively, look in The National Archives’ library catalogue to see what is available to consult at Kew. If you provide contact details, we will be in touch about your request within 10 working days. Although it was a uniformed service, there were no military ranks in the WAAC; instead of officers and other ranks, it was made up of 'officials' and 'members'. They require the full name, date of birth, the address at the time of service, and the location of service if possible. Therefore it is possible that the records you are searching for do not exist. No First World War service records for Women’s Royal Air Force officers are known to survive. It was finally disbanded in 1950. Officials were divided into 'controllers' and 'administrators', members were 'subordinate officials', 'forewomen' and 'workers'. The Women’s Royal Air Force was disbanded in 1920 and then reformed in 1939 as the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Applicants had to appear before a selection board and they needed to provide two references. Its first director was Oveta Culp Hobby, a prominent woman in Texas society. The story of the electronic World War II Army Enlistment Record file begins with the disastrous July 12, 1973, fire at NARA's National Personnel Records Center for Military Personnel Records (NPRC). These are the service records of more than 7,000 women who joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) between 1917 and 1920. The Women’s Land Army was established in January 1917 to help increase the amount of food grown within Britain. Further information on the WAAC can be found in Arthur Marwick, 'Women at War, 1914-1918' (London, 1977). 2890, August 5, 1942, 3-303 To Oveta Culp Hobby, August 29, 1942, 3-304 Memorandum for the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1 [Wilson], August 31, 1942, 3-309 To Allen T. Brown, September 1, 1942, 3-331 Memorandum for the Director, Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, September 16, 1942, 3-332 Memorandum for General Somervell, September 17, 1942, 3-433 Draft Letter to the Military Committee, House of Representatives, December 3, 1942, 3-452 Memorandum for Mrs. Hobby, December 16, 1942, 4-015 To Director Oveta Culp Hobby, June 15, 1943, 4-212 Memorandum for the Bureau of Public Relations, January 26, 1944, 4-253 To Herman W. Steinkraus, February 15, 1944, 4-308 Statement for the Women’s Army Corps Recruiting Campaign, March 21, 1944, 4-336 Memorandum on Women’s Army Corps, April 6, 1944, 4-466 To Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, July 27, 1944, 4-627 Memorandum for General Handy, December 28, 1944, 42.05 Muriel Rockefeller Hubbard; Telegram, 43.02.18 General Marshall Praises WAAC As It Opens 4th Training Center, 5-010 Memorandum for General Handy, January 5, 1945, 5-230 To Oveta Culp Hobby, September 18, 1945, American women and the U.S. armed forces : a guide to the records of military agencies in the National Archives relating to American women, An officer and a lady : the World War II letters of Lt. Col. Betty Bandel, Women’s Army Corps / edited by Sylvia J. Bugbee ; with an introduction by Lorry M. Fenner, GCM00358 Oveta Culp Hobby being sworn into Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), GCM02433 Irving Berlin, Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, and Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson, GCM03448 Edith Nourse Rogers and Oveta Culp Hobby saluting, GCM03679 Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby at a mixed heavy Anti-Aircraft Battalion, GCM03679A Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby inspecting a mixed heavy Anti-Aircraft Gun Emplacement, GCM03680 Director Hobby of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) taking oath of office as a Colonel in the U.S. Army, GCM03680A Director Hobby of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) sworn into regular army, GCM03680B Director Hobby of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) taking oath of office as a Colonel in the U.S. Army, GCM03680C Director Oveta Culp Hobby of the WAACs taking oath of office, GCM03837 Eleanor Roosevelt, Colonel Munson, and Colonel Hobby prior to boarding General Marshall’s airplane, GCM03837A Eleanor Roosevelt, Colonel Munson, and Colonel Hobby walking in the snow, GCM04177 Lieutenant Colonel Craighill and Colonel Hobby, GCM04182 Conference of WAC Staff Directors, GCM04204 Director Hobby talking to the press, GCM04205 Photographers taking photographs of Colonel Hobby, GCM04220 Colonel Faith and Director Hobby, GCM04221 Colonel Faith and Director Hobby, GCM04222 Colonel Faith and Director Hobby inspecting 2nd Platoon of Company 2, GCM04223 Colonel Faith, Director Hobby, and Captain Skinner inspecting Company 2, GCM04224 Colonel Faith and Director Hobby inspecting Company 2, GCM04248 Director Hobby talking to a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) member, GCM04424 WAC Detachment, “Minute of Silence” ceremonies, Arc de Triomphe, Paris, GCM04451 Director Hobby and Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) Regimental Officers, GCM04452 Director Hobby and Regimental Officer, GCM04454 General Grunert and Colonel Faith, GCM04457 Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) members sitting outside, GCM04458 Major General Knox, Director Hobby, and Colonel Faith, GCM04459 Forrest Spaulding, Ruth Ellis, and Lelia Cocke, GCM04460 Colonel Morgan, Capt Skinner, Agnes Thumann, GCM04462 Lelia Cocke Bagbey in WAC overcoat, GCM04463 Six WACs in front of car in uniform, GCM04476 Entrance to Yeronga Park, Brisbane, Australia, GCM04485 Toland, Cocke and Nachter in Manila, GCM04698 Audience at WAC Disestablishment Ceremony, GCM04699 Group Photo at WAC Disestablishment Ceremony, GCM04700 BG Mary Clarke Address at WAC Disestablishment Ceremony, GCM04701 Order Read at WAC Disestablishment Ceremony, GCM06057 Autographed portrait photograph of Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, One woman’s Army : a Black officer remembers the WAC / Charity Adams Earley, One woman’s war : letters home from the Women’s Army Corps, 1944-1946 / Anne Bosanko Green ; with a foreword by D’Ann Campbell, Serving our country : Japanese American women in the military during World War II / Brenda L. Moore, Stateside soldier : life in the Women’s Army Corps, 1944 1945 / Aileen Kilgore Henderson, The Women’s Army Corps, 1945-1978 / by Bettie J. Morden, WACs : Women’s Army Corps / Vera S. Williams, When the nation was in need : Blacks in the Women’s Army Corps during World War II / by Martha S. Putney, Women’s Advisory Committee on Women in the Service, You Must Be Fit : The Official Physical Training Program of the Women’s Army Corp, Organization Chart Offices of the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff & Secretary, General Staff, Organization Chart Offices of the Chief of Staff, Deputy Chief of Staff & Secretariat, General Staff, Statistics Branch War Department General Staff organization chart, Secretariat, War Department General Staff, Handshake after award from Gen. George C. Marshall, Newspaper clipping of Pershing attending Brown-Marshall Wedding, George Catlett Marshall and Katherine Tupper Marshall Collection, Invitation list to wedding of Katherine T. Brown and Lt. Col. George C. Marshall, Marshall Day at Virginia Military Institute.