Last updated The WRAF on parade in London at the end of World War I, 1918
The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force, existing from 1 April 1918 until 1 April 1920, when it was disbanded.[1] Its original intent was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men for front line service in World War I. However, the organisation saw high enrolment, with women also serving in a number of other non-combatant roles, including drivers, caterers, clerks and tailors, as well as filling other wartime needs.[2]
Its last veteran was for a time thought to be Gladys Powers, who died in 2008, but Florence Green, who died in February 2012,[3] was subsequently found to be the last-known surviving WRAF veteran.[4]
The target strength had been a force of around 90,000. Figures are unreliable until 1 August 1918, when the strength was 15,433, approximately 5,000 recruits and 10,000 transferred from the predecessor organisations, mainly the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps, but also the Women's Royal Naval Service. The organisation never exceeded 25,000.[5]
Depots
Depots were opened in 1918 at Handsworth College, in Glasgow, at RAF Flowerdown and at York.
Air vice-marshal (AVM) is a two-star air officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure.
Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in air forces that use the Royal Air Force (RAF) system of ranks, especially in Commonwealth countries. It has a NATO rank code of OF-2. Flight lieutenant is abbreviated as Flt Lt in the Indian Air Force (IAF) and RAF, and as FLTLT in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF), Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) and has sometimes also been abbreviated as F/L in many services; it has never been correctly abbreviated as "lieutenant". A flight lieutenant ranks above flying officer and below a squadron leader and is sometimes used as an English language translation of a similar rank in non-English-speaking countries.
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs, was the female auxiliary of the British Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 181,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.
Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service (PMRAFNS) is the nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force.
The history of the Royal Air Force, the air force of the United Kingdom, spans a century of British military aviation.
The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was the women's branch of the Royal Air Force. It existed in two separate incarnations: the Women's Royal Air Force from 1918 to 1920 and the Women's Royal Air Force from 1949 to 1994.
The Royal Auxiliary Air Force (RAuxAF), formerly the Auxiliary Air Force (AAF), together with the Air Force Reserve, is a component of His Majesty's Reserve Air Forces. It provides a primary reinforcement capability for the regular service, and consists of paid volunteers who give up some of their weekends, evenings and holidays to train at one of a number of squadrons around the United Kingdom. Its current mission is to provide trained personnel in support of the regular RAF.
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. It was established in February 1917 and disbanded on 27 September 1921.
Air Commandant Dame Felicity Hyde, Lady Peake was the founding director of the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) She started flying when her first husband took up the hobby in 1935, but in 1946 became the first director of the WRAF. She was Honorary Aide-de-camp to King George VI from 1949 to 1950.
Dame Helen Charlotte Isabella Gwynne-Vaughan, was a prominent English botanist and mycologist. During the First World War, she served in the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps and then as Commandant of the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) from 1918 to 1919. During the Second World War, from 1939 to 1941, she served as Chief Controller of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS).
Clare Grant Stevenson, AM, MBE was the inaugural Director of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF), from May 1941 to March 1946. As such, she was described in 2001 as "the most significant woman in the history of the Air Force". Formed as a branch of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in March 1941, the WAAAF was the first and largest uniformed women's service in Australia during World War II, numbering more than 18,000 members by late 1944 and making up over thirty per cent of RAAF ground staff.
602 Squadron is a Royal Auxiliary Air Force squadron. Originally formed in 1925 as a light bomber squadron, its role changed in 1938 to army co-operation and in 1939 to that of a fighter squadron.
Air Vice Marshal Henry Neilson Wrigley, CBE, DFC, AFC was a senior commander in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). A pioneering flyer and aviation scholar, he piloted the first trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Darwin in 1919, and afterwards laid the groundwork for the RAAF's air power doctrine. During World War I, Wrigley joined the Australian Flying Corps and saw combat with No. 3 Squadron on the Western Front, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross; he later commanded the unit and published a history of its wartime exploits. He was awarded the Air Force Cross for his 1919 cross-country flight.
Mary Teston Luis Bell was an Australian aviator and founding leader of the Women's Air Training Corps (WATC), a volunteer organisation that provided support to the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) during World War II. She later helped establish the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF), the country's first and largest women's wartime service, which grew to more than 18,000 members by 1944.
Florence Beatrice Green was an English woman who at the time of her death was thought to have been the last surviving veteran of the First World War from any country. She was a member of the Women's Royal Air Force.
No. 612 Squadron RAF was originally formed in 1937 as an Army Co-operation unit, and flew during the Second World War in the General Reconnaissance role. After the war the squadron was reformed and flew in the Day Fighter role until disbanded in 1957. At present the squadron has a non-flying role as a RAF Medical Reserves unit.
Air Commandant Dame Mary Henrietta Barnett was a senior officer of the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF). From 1956 to 1960, she served as its director.
Air Commandant Dame Anne Stephens was Director of the British Women's Royal Air Force from 1960 until her retirement in 1963. She was awarded an MBE in 1946, and elevated to DBE in 1961.
This is a list of personnel numbers in the Royal Air Force, from its inception in 1918, up until the modern day. Royal Air Force staffing numbers have fluctuated with periodic demand, however, since the end of the Second World War, numbers have decreased steadily and the RAF itself has shrunk in terms of operating bases. Several schemes have been implemented during times of excess staffing to reduce numbers.
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