The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was the first and largest of the wartime Australian women’s services. About 27,000 women enlisted between 1941 and 1946. It paved the way for other women's service organisations.
Recruits worked in a variety of clerical, medical, professional and other roles, freeing up men for combat overseas.They were often paid half to two-thirds of the salary of men in similar roles.
At its peak size, in October 1944, the WAAAF had around 18,670 serving members.
Forming the new service
At the start of World War II, the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS) was the only women's service.
As Australian men left their jobs to fight overseas, many women were employed in essential industries.
About 17 months after the war started, the country faced increasing workforce shortages. Federal Cabinet decided to introduce more women into the armed services.
The head of the Royal Australian Air force (RAAF), Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Burnett, had been seconded from the Royal Air force (RAF) in 1939. He supported the concept of women in the Air Force.
Burnett began the process to introduce airwomen into the RAAF, but it took almost 12 months before the WAAAF formed in March 1941.
On 9 June 1941, Group Officer Clare Stevenson was appointed Director of the WAAAF. She held that position until she retired on 18 March 1946. She helped turn the WAAAF into an effective component of the RAAF.
Lady Zara Gowrie, wife of the Governor-General, was the first Honorary Air Commandant of the WAAAF. She was followed by Her Royal Highness, Princess Alice, the Duchess of Gloucester.
The WAAAF was the first and largest of the wartime Australian women’s services. About 27,000 women enlisted between 1941 and 1946. Its formation paved the way for other women's service organisations, such as the Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) and the Women's Royal Australian Naval Service (WRANS).
Many WAAAF recruits were already volunteers in the Women's Air Training Corps (WATC) and the Women's Emergency Signalling Corps (WESC). They brought valuable skills with them to the new service.
Some joined as patriotic duty, some to escape the social confines of life at home with the men away.
World War II recruitment poster by James Northfield. It shows a young Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force recruit. In the background is a montage of the various WAAAF duties, with Bristol Beauforts on the ground and possibly the same in the sky. AWM ARTV05170
Role of the WAAAF
As an auxiliary service, the WAAAF was not part of Australia's armed forces, and they never served overseas.
WAAAF recruits were posted to bases around Australia, where they took part in more than 70 'musterings' (trades) alongside airmen. Wherever they were needed, they worked in places like:
- air force hangars
- kitchens
- messes
- offices
- operations rooms
- radar and signals sections
- stores depots.
To free up men for combat roles overseas, the women of the WAAAF worked as:
- armament workers
- electricians
- fabric workers
- fitters
- flight mechanics
- instrument makers
- meteorological assistants
- telegraphists.
The women also brought their skills to roles in clerical, medical, transport, catering, equipment, signals and radar.
More than 700 women held commissioned ranks and worked in various administrative, technical and professional jobs.
Some women commanded units in operations rooms, including in intelligence at General Douglas MacArthur's Headquarters in Brisbane. They also worked in highly skilled technical roles with aircraft.
The women were paid less than men doing similar tasks. Often half or two-thirds of the men's salaries.
Unique to auxiliary services, the women paraded with the RAAF men.
The Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour lists 57 WAAAF members who died while serving.
Stories from the WAAAF
Alison Worrall
Victorian Alison Worrall was filling bullets in an ammunition factory before enlisting in the WAAAF on 23 August 1941. She was posted to Queensland, finding the locals to be 'great, big ranging people … from the country, a different breed they looked'. Meanwhile, her husband Bill was serving in the Royal Australian Navy. Alison held the rank of Flight Sergeant when she discharged from No. 7 Operational Training Unit in 1946. Hear Alison's story.
Rachel Rayner
I was originally in the Air Training Corps when I was a bit younger for not very long. Then I joined the Red Cross and I was sewing sheets or something, and I felt that, I just came home to my dad one day and said, "I turn 18 next week, I'm thinking that I should join the services."
As a young girl, Rachel Rayner was a member of the Air Training Corps. She was too young to enlist when the war began. Instead, she volunteered for the Red Cross. When she turned 18, Rachel enlisted in the WAAAF. She held the rank of Aircraftwoman when she discharged in 1947.
Hear Rachel's story.
A family affair
Aircraftwoman Valma Berry was one of 6 Tasmanian siblings who served in World War II. She enlisted in the WAAAF in January 1943 as a clerk signaller. Her brother Dallas had enlisted in 1939, followed by Fred, Glyn, Charlie and Athol. All the Berry siblings survived the war. Learn more about the Berry family.
End of the WAAAF
The WAAAF was disbanded in 1947.
In 1951, the service was reconstituted as the permanent Women's Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF). This recognised the skills, abilities and contributions of the women.
In 1977, the WRAAF was integrated into the RAAF, along with the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service (RAAFNS), which had been established in 1940.
Members of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) Service Police Unit are inspected by their commanding officer, 350222 Flight Officer Lily Eva Ruby Dunlop, Melbourne, 24 February 1943. AWM 137978
Sources
DVA (Department of Veterans' Affairs) (2008), Australian Women in War: Investigating the experiences and changing roles of Australian women in war and peace operations 1899—Today, DVA, Canberra. https://anzacportal.dva.gov.au/sites/default/files/docs/australian-women-in-war-2008.pdf
Stone, June (2003), 'Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) (1941 - 1947)', The Australian Women's Register, March 2003, accessed 8 May 2022, https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0400b.htm
Second World War Official Histories, Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 4 – Civil, Volume V – The Role of Science and Industry (1st edition, 1958), Chapter 16 – Ammunition and Explosives, p 351. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1417469
Wikipedia contributors. (2022, October 22). Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 8 May 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Auxiliary_Australian_Air_Force