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Women's (later Queen Mary's) Army Auxiliary Corps (1917-1920)

You can search and download the service records of more than 7,000 women who joined the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (1917-1918), later Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps (1918-1920). These records are held in the series WO 398. Use the links below to jump to the topics you are interested in.

Introduction

Searching the records

What could these records help me to discover?

Examples of the records

Why can't I find an entry?

Further Research

Introduction

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Volunteers in 1917 (Cat ref NATS 1/1307)

Women entered the workplace in greater numbers with the outbreak of the First World War. Some were acting out of patriotism, while others seized the opportunity to do work previously denied to them. The newly-formed Ministry of Munitions was one of the main employers to take advantage of women's willingness to work. At the same time, there was great concern that men who could be fighting on the Front were being used for administrative tasks instead.

This became more worrying in 1916 following the heavy losses on the Western Front and new voluntary services were founded as a response to this. One of these was the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps or WAAC.

The WAAC was divided into four sections: Cookery; Mechanical; Clerical and Miscellaneous. Most stayed on the Home Front but around 9,000 served in France. The women in the WAAC did not have full military status. They enrolled, they did not enlist, and breaches of discipline were dealt with by civil, not military, courts. The grades (ranks) were divided into Controllers and Administrators (the officers) and Members (the other ranks). Within the Members there were forewomen (sergeants), assistant forewomen (corporals) and workers (privates).

Rates of pay were determined by the type of work. So for example, a shorthand typist was paid more than a kitchen assistant. A woman in the WAAC was still paid less than a man in the Army who was doing the same work. The WAAC uniform and accommodation were provided free but there was a weekly charge of 12 shillings and sixpence for food.

It was renamed the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps (QMAAC) in April 1918. And when the Royal Air Force (RAF) was created in 1918 a number of WAAC volunteers entered the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF). The Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps disbanded in September 1921.

Searching the records

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You can search on any or all of the following:

First name (and initials)
Surname (or surname at birth if different)
Date of Birth
Place of Birth

What could these records help me to discover?

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You could discover many details about the women who served in the WAAC and QMAAC because the service records include a variety of material such as:

an enrolment form, including name, age, address, parent's nationality and marital status
statement of services which records grade, location, promotions and the name and address of next-of-kin
other documents such as: identification certificate, employer's and other references, application form, casualty form, clothing history sheet (with details about the uniform issued to each woman)

The original documents suffered substantial fire, water and mould damage and this left some text in poor contrast. The microfilms were of the highest quality obtainable and during filming, every effort was made to maximise image retention.

Examples of the records

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Some of the documents are on pre-printed forms, for example the application and enrolment forms or the Certificate of Identity, but you might also find handwritten letters such as pay enquiries.

Applicants had to appear before a selection board and they needed to provide two references. They would also have to pass a medical examination before they could be accepted. You can see samples of some of the documents below. These are taken from the file of Grace Murray, a teacher who applied for a post in the WAAC. Although she served in France, she had a severe attack of influenza and had to return to Scotland. There was a shortage of trained teachers at home and during her sick leave the local education authority sought her discharge .


Enrolment form (Catalogue reference WO 398/163)		Identification certificate (Catalogue reference WO 398/163)


Correspondence from Miss Murray's brother (Catalogue reference WO 398/163)		Correspondence from civilian employer (Catalogue reference WO 398/163)

Why can't I find an entry?

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Over 57,000 women served in the WAAC from January 1917 to November 1918, however many documents suffered severe damage as a result of a German air raid in September 1940. Just over seven thousand WAAC/QMAAC records of service were unharmed, so it is possible that the records you are searching for did not survive.

Further reseach

War Diaries for the WAAC give a daily account of arrivals, departures, promotions, inspections and any disciplinary matters. If you are searching for a Controller or Administrator the diaries might mention her by name - see our guide to the First World War diaries you can find in DocumentsOnline. You can download the two QMAAC diaries in WO 95/84 and WO 95/85.

If you want to search for records about the medals awarded start with the Medal Card Index. The only gallantry medal issued to women in the First World War was the Military Medal. The research guide British Armed Services: Gallantry Medals explains how to search for the records relating to this award.

You can search the service records of the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF).

There is a selection of medical records in MH 106. If a woman's service record has not survived there might yet be something there.

The main administrative records are held in WO 32 and WO 162. The records cover recruitment and organisation, status, discipline, accommodation, uniform, transfer of members to the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS) and the Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF), pay and conditions of service. You can see a draft of the General Rules below.