Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps
The Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), known as Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps (QMAAC) from 9 April 1918, was the women's corps of the British Army during and immediately after the First World War.[1] It was established in February 1917 and disbanded on 27 September 1921.
History
The corps was formally instituted on 7 July 1917 by Lieutenant-General Sir Nevil Macready, the adjutant-general, who appointed Dr Mona Chalmers Watson the first chief controller.[2] More than 57,000 women served between January 1917 and November 1918.
On 31 March 1917, women in the WAAC were first sent to the battlefields in France, just fourteen cooks and waitresses.[3] Helen Gwynne-Vaughan was the chief controller overseas, and Florence Leach was the controller of the cooks. In 1918, women medical personnel were sent to the front in France; one such was Dr Phoebe Chapple, who was awarded the Military Medal for her actions during an air raid on the WAAC shelter trench outside Abbeville in May 1918.[4]
The corps was disbanded on 27 September 1921. The last surviving QMAAC veteran was Ivy Campany, who died in 2008.
Ranks and rank insignia
This system was authorised by Army Council Instruction No. 1069, 1917. All insignia was worn on epaulettes unless otherwise specified.[5]
| Rank | Rank insignia |
|---|---|
| Chief Controller | Double rose |
| Deputy Chief Controller Chief Controller (Overseas) |
One fleur-de-lys and two roses |
| Deputy Chief Controller (Overseas) Section Controller |
One fleur-de-lys and one rose |
| Assistant Section Controller | Two fleur-de-lys |
| Area Controller | One fleur-de-lys |
| Clothing Controller Unit Administrator (i/c large hostel) |
Three roses |
| Deputy Administrator (i/c small hostel) Quartermistress Class I |
Two roses |
| Technical Assistant Controller Deputy Administrator (2i/c large hostel) Assistant Administrator Quartermistress Class II |
One rose |
| Forewoman | Rose and laurel wreath on right upper arm |
| Assistant Forewoman | Laurel wreath on right upper arm |
List of controllers
- Chief controllers
- Dr Mona Chalmers Watson (February 1917 to 1918)
- Hilda Horniblow (Chief Controller in France in 1917, and in England from July 1918 succeeding Mrs Long.[6]
- Dame Florence Leach (1918 to 1920) (from 1917 Controller-in-Chief)[7]
- Controllers
- Helen Gwynne-Vaughan; Controller, later Commandant of the Women's Royal Air Force
Records
After a German air raid in September 1940, most of the service records did not survive. Those which did have suffered fire, water and mould damage. The National Archives digitised these to prevent further damage and they can be searched and viewed online.[8]
See also
References
- ^ Pennington, Reina (2003). Amazons to Fighter Pilots - A Biographical Dictionary of Military Women (Volume 2). Westpoint, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 464–465. ISBN 0-313-29197-7.
- ^ Spiers, Edward M., ed. (2011). A Military History of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. p. 23. ISBN 9780748633357. Retrieved 8 March 2015.
- ^ Bidwell, Shelford. The Women's Royal Army Corps, p. 1.
- ^ "Military Medal: Dr Phoebe Chapple, Royal Army Medical Corps". Australian War Memorial. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
- ^ War Office, Army Council Instruction No. 1069, 7 July 1917.
- ^ "Horniblow [married name Dalton], (Emilie) Hilda". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/62131. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
- ^ Bidwell, Shelford (1997). The Women s Royal Army Corps. Pen & Sword. p. 28. ISBN 9780850520996. Retrieved 1 April 2018.
- ^ Women's (later Queen Mary's) Army Auxiliary Corps (1917–1920) – DocumentsOnline research guide
External links
- Women's (later Queen Mary's) Army Auxiliary Corps (1917–1920) – DocumentsOnline research guide
- DocumentsOnline searchable service record collection
- On Waactive Service by Majorie Hay, an account of the Corp. in France 1917 – 1918, The Plymouth Press, circa 1919