Drawing
on official documents, letters and diaries written by those involved from the
WAAC’s inception in 1917, through the change of name to the Queen Mary’s Army
Auxiliary Corps, disbandment in 1920, founding of the WAAC Old Comrades
Association, up to the laying up of the Corps’ flag in Guildford Cathedral in
2012 and present day commemorations, this book gives us the story of one of the
Corps in which women served during the First World War. It is a reminder of the on-going struggle for
emancipation that women in Britain had in the early years of the 20th
Century.
Philo-Gill
takes us on a voyage of discovery finding out about the background to the
setting up of the Corps at a time when Britain was in desperate need of men to
fight at the front and the women who were brought in to help. As she points out, this was the first time in
Britain’s history that women had ‘officially work(ed) alongside the British
Army’.
The
book gives a clear explanation of how the various women’s suffrage societies
were involved in the setting up of the WAAC – ‘no woman was to be employed
unless a soldier was released for combat’ - the establishment of rules of
conduct, rates of pay – deductions for board and lodging, etc. – uniforms,
recruitment methods and so on. This is followed by a description of the work
undertaken in France by the Corps members and the women who were in charge of
them and the locations in which the women worked, such as Officers’ Clubs, base
camps, records offices and Army schools of instruction. Initial reluctance to the idea of women near
the front lines eventually led to acceptance that women were needed to help win
the war. Women could undertake such
tasks as clerical work, telephonists (they had to speak French), cooking,
baking bread, cleaning, waiting at tables, driving, gardening and looking after
graves in cemeteries – not grave digging as that was undertaken by men.
The
women posted to France worked extremely long hours, sometimes 8 hours on and 8
hours off, and, when possible, had a half-day off each week, yet the healthy
life with regular exercise, even with a rather Spartan diet, meant that the
women who joined the WAAC were a happy band.
They were also “expected to attend church parade and service on
Sundays”.
I found
so much of interest that it is hard to choose just a few for the review – I was
fascinated to read about the employment of French civilian women, that “In
1915, the hemline of civilian women’s dresses was raised by several inches’ and
‘Married women were allowed to apply and did not require their husband’s
approval” – that must have raised some eyebrows at the time. Descriptions of day-to-day life for the WAACs
in WW1 France and how the women coped with the difficult conditions they
encountered I found particularly interesting. And did you know there were three
female artists who were assistant administrators in the WAAC who ran camouflage
units in France?
After
the Armistice in November 1918, Corps members were assigned to new duties such
as Border Control. Also interesting is
the description of the change in attitude to the women who served during WW1
when they tried to find work in post-WW1 Britain.
There
are some very good photographs included, many of them the author’s own, and an
interesting chapter on the women who were despatched to write about the work of
the Corps for the British press, as well as those who took photographs, painted
official pictures or wrote books about the WAAC.
One of
the Corps’ Administrators (equivalent to the rank of Officer in the men’s army)
was Margaret Gibson, who was the first woman to be awarded the Military Medal -
for her bravery during an air raid.
Sadly, Mrs Gibson died on 17th September 1918. She was buried in Mont Huon Military
Cemetery, Le Treport, France, along with three women who died while serving
with other organisations.
“From
the time of their arrival in France in March 1917, the WAAC was subjected to
air raids” and there were quite a few wounded or killed during those air raids.
There were also those who died of diseases contracted while serving in France.
They were buried in cemeteries in France and I often wonder how many of those
graves receive visitors? This book is a
fitting memorial to all the women who served in the WAAC/QMAAC.
“The
Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps in France 1917 – 1921” by Samantha Philo-Gill,
published by Pen & Sword History, Barnsley, Yorkshire, UK, 2017 is available
from good bookshops. For further
information please visit https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/
