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(Women of the WAAC led by the Corps band: Photograph courtesy of the National Army Museum)

On the outbreak of the First World War (1914-18), women were eager to prove their worth to society and support the war effort, but the British government was initially reluctant to involve them. The prevailing attitude was that women were not skilled or resilient enough for traditional military work.

In 1916, the Department of National Service considered calling up men in their fifties to release more soldiers for front-line service. However, they soon realised this would not raise the numbers needed. So, in 1917, the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) was established, with Dr Mona Chalmers Watson as its first Chief Controller.

Women were restricted to ‘feminine’, auxiliary roles, such as store work, administration and catering. They were also initially confined to service in Britain, but this was quickly expanded to France, with Helen Gwynne-Vaughan appointed as Chief Controller Overseas.

Impressed with the WAAC's work, Queen Mary became its patron in 1918. The corps was renamed Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps (QMAAC) to reflect its fine conduct during the German Spring Offensive of that year.

Women were employed as cooks, mess waitresses, clerks, telephone operators, store-women, drivers, printers, bakers and cemetery gardeners. By 1918, nearly 40,000 women had enrolled. Of these, some 7,000 served in France on the Western front.

The QMAAC were kept on in France after the war to help with the clean-up operation over there, including tending to the cemetery gardens that had been established. The unit was eventually disbanded in September 1921 as the Army was reduced to peacetime levels. At the start of World War 2 many former QMAAC’s returned to the colours and joined the newly formed Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). These details are courtesy of the National Army Museum.

Surviving enrolment and service records still exist in the National Archives for ten Seaham women who served in the British Army as WAAC’s between 1917 and 1919. 

(Details extracted from National Archive records by Fred Cooper)

Examples of further information available from the National Archives:

 (Further detail is available for the ten WAAC's listed above. Please contact Fred Cooper for details.)