WRAAC HISTORY
Brief History of the WRAAC
(PHOTOS FROM 1 WRAAC COY SUPPLIED BY DELL SHEARS RFD)
The WRAAC had its origins from the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) which had been formed in 1941 to release men from some military duties to serve with fighting units. At the conclusion of WW2 the AWAS was disbanded in 1947.
Cabinet gave approval in June 1950 for the raising of a women’s Corps, WAAC ( Women’s Australian Army Corps),
within the Australian Military Forces owing to concerns of the Korean War and for prepared readiness.
In December 1950 it was approved that there be an initial intake of 250 personnel.
February 1951 saw Lt Col Kathleen Best appointed the first Director of the Corps.
In June 1951, King George VI granted the addition of “Royal” to the Corps namein recognition
of the wartime contributions or the women’s services and thus WRAAC came into being
(Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps)
The aim, again, was to enlist women to replace men for training and other duties required in the
preparation for war. WRAAC served as Cooks, Mess Stewardesses, Draftswomen, Clerks,
Signal Operators, Drivers and Psychologists to name a few. Courses for trades and promotion
in the NCO and Officer streams were taken as per our male counterparts.
The introduction of WRAAC into the Citizen Military Forces,
for part time training, was approved in December 1951
while recruiting did not start until June 1953.
1 WRAAC COMPANY
QUEENSLAND
WRAAC were in all States of Australia and a contingent of WRAAC Signal personnel was posted to Singapore for 12 months in 1967. The Vietnam War and Malaysian conflict era.
In the ensuing years the members of the Corps carried out the duties/jobs allotted to them in the variety of postings they filled.
Integration of WRAAC into the mainstream of the Military commenced in 1975 which saw the current serving WRAAC personnel transferring or coming under the banner of male units and the now, new, females being directly enlisted into the ADF (Australian Defence Force), and Service of choice.
The WRAAC Corps was disbanded in 1985.
We were the link between the women who served in WW2 and the women in today’s Australian Defence Force.
An important Step.
Our strong Camaraderie lives on.
First WRAAC, Women's Royal Australian Army Corps
The Australian War Memorial.
We gratefully acknowledge the Australian War Memorial for allowing us to display this home made video which was made between 1951-1953 by Joan Fletcher.
ABOUT US
Introduction to the Commencement of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps Association (Queensland)
In 1978 the inaugural Conference of WRAAC Association Australia was held and in attendance were Delegates from NSW, SA, Vic and WA who were leading the way in forming Corps Members Associations. WRAAC Corps members in Queensland had taken note of this and started looking for expressions of interest in the formation of an Association in our State. Some of the founding members were already financial with the NSW Association.
The Steering Committee to set up a Queensland Association was Heather Reynolds, Thelma Crouch, Jay Chadwick, Stella Freeman, Mary Morrow and Noela Wotherspoon.
Following the groundwork that took place here, the first meeting was convened on the 24th May 1980 and Judith Polkinghorne (Munday) was elected our first President. 58 WRAAC, Regular and CMF, were present and 37 apologies received.
The Constitution was adopted and the objectives were the following:
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Stimulate interest and promote the Corps as a whole fostering and strengthening the ties of comradeship
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Provide social and sporting events for general participation.
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Assist members of the Association in need.
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Support the many charities operating for the benefit of ex-service men and women.
Our Association has abided by these and as maturity has caught up made sensible adjustments at the appropriate times.
The Queensland Association became Incorporated on 23 March 1995. The Association was affiliated with the Australian Body for many years and in that time provided delegates to attend conferences held in various States. Queensland eventually withdrew but kept close liaisons with all the other state Associations.
As at the commencement (launch) of this website, it has been 36 years since that first meeting and over 400 WRAAC have passed through our doors. Some have only been members for a short period of time and others have been staunch “in for the whole ride” Comrades/Friends. It has been great to catch up with all these folk, to be there for them, to enjoy our service days in times gone by but to remember the important part that we have played in the history of women’s service in our countries defence force.
In keeping with the changing times, 2021 saw the Constitution take a massive overhaul and a proposed 'Rules of Association'
document was accepted by the members. The State's Office of Fair Trading, the body responsible for Incorporations, approved the document in February 2022.
The objectives of the Association are as follows.
To stimulate interest and promote the Corps by:
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fostering and strengthening the ties of camaraderie; companionship and well being;
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assisting members of the Association in need; and
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preserving the service history of the Corps and the women who have served in the Corps
There have been many mile stones in the Association History that have been important to us and us alone and these events have been the personal association with our service counterparts in the other States and also meeting up with the many women from other Services who served this country of ours.
Video created for the 70th Anniversary
by Association member Margie Gadd OAM
