Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Encyclopedia
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs (icon), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force
during World War II
, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.
A Women's Royal Air Force
had existed from 1918 to 1920. The WAAF was created on 28 June 1939, absorbing the forty-eight RAF companies of the Auxiliary Territorial Service
which had been formed since 1938. Conscription of women did not begin until 1941. It only applied to those between 20 and 30 years of age and they had the choice of the auxiliary services or factory work.
WAAFs did not serve as aircrew
. The use of women pilots was limited to the Air Transport Auxiliary
(ATA), which was civilian. Neither did they participate in active combat, though they were exposed to the same dangers as any on the "home front" working at military installations. They were active in parachute
packing and the manning of barrage balloon
s in addition to performing catering
, meteorology
, radar
, transport, communications duties including wireless telephonic
and telegraphic operation. They worked with codes and ciphers, analysed reconnaissance photographs, and performed intelligence
operations. WAAFs were a vital presence in the control of aircraft, both the radar stations and iconically as plotters in the operation rooms, most notably during the Battle of Britain
. These operation rooms directed fighter aircraft against the Luftwaffe
, mapping both home and enemy positions.
Nurses belonged to Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
instead. Female medical and dental officers were commissioned into the Royal Air Force and held RAF ranks.
WAAFs were paid two-thirds of the pay of male counterparts in RAF ranks.
By the end of World War II, WAAF enrollment had declined and the effect of demobilisation
was to take thousands out of the service. The remainder, now only several hundred strong, was renamed the Women's Royal Air Force
on 1 February 1949.
now held identical ranks to male RAF personnel, but officers continued to have a separate rank system, although now different from that of the ATS. From February 1940 it was no longer possible to enter directly as an officer; from that time all officers were appointed from the other ranks. From July 1941 WAAF officers held full commissions. On January 1 1943, the rank of Air Chief Commandant (equivalent to Major-General, Air Vice-Marshal) was created with the director's appointment to that rank.
during the Second World War.
, RAF Broadwell
, and RAF Blakehill Farm
. RAF Dakota
aircraft carried military supplies and ammunition so could not display the Red Cross.
Training for air ambulance nursing duties included instruction in the use of oxygen, injections, learning how to deal with certain types of injuries such as broken bones, missing limb cases, head injuries, burns and colostomies; and to learn the effects of air travel and altitude.
In October 2008 the seven nurses still living were presented with lifetime achievement awards by the Duchess of Cornwall
.
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.
A Women's Royal Air Force
Women's Royal Air Force
The Women's Royal Air Force was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations.The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men...
had existed from 1918 to 1920. The WAAF was created on 28 June 1939, absorbing the forty-eight RAF companies of the Auxiliary Territorial Service
Auxiliary Territorial Service
The Auxiliary Territorial Service was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War...
which had been formed since 1938. Conscription of women did not begin until 1941. It only applied to those between 20 and 30 years of age and they had the choice of the auxiliary services or factory work.
WAAFs did not serve as aircrew
Aircrew
Aircrew are the personnel who operate an aircraft while in flight. The composition of the crew depends on the type of aircraft as well as the purpose of the flight.-Civilian:*Aviator** Pilot-in-command** First officer** Second officer** Third officer...
. The use of women pilots was limited to the Air Transport Auxiliary
Air Transport Auxiliary
The Air Transport Auxiliary was a British World War II civilian organisation that ferried new, repaired and damaged military aircraft between UK factories, assembly plants, transatlantic delivery points, Maintenance Units , scrap yards, and active service squadrons and airfields—but not to...
(ATA), which was civilian. Neither did they participate in active combat, though they were exposed to the same dangers as any on the "home front" working at military installations. They were active in parachute
Parachute
A parachute is a device used to slow the motion of an object through an atmosphere by creating drag, or in the case of ram-air parachutes, aerodynamic lift. Parachutes are usually made out of light, strong cloth, originally silk, now most commonly nylon...
packing and the manning of barrage balloon
Barrage balloon
A barrage balloon is a large balloon tethered with metal cables, used to defend against low-level aircraft attack by damaging the aircraft on collision with the cables, or at least making the attacker's approach more difficult. Some versions carried small explosive charges that would be pulled up...
s in addition to performing catering
Catering
Catering is the business of providing foodservice at a remote site or a site such as a hotel, public house , or other location.-Mobile catering:A mobile caterer serves food directly from a vehicle or cart that is designed for the purpose...
, meteorology
Meteorology
Meteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
, radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, transport, communications duties including wireless telephonic
Telephony
In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....
and telegraphic operation. They worked with codes and ciphers, analysed reconnaissance photographs, and performed intelligence
Intelligence (information gathering)
Intelligence assessment is the development of forecasts of behaviour or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organization, based on a wide range of available information sources both overt and covert. Assessments are developed in response to requirements declared by the leadership...
operations. WAAFs were a vital presence in the control of aircraft, both the radar stations and iconically as plotters in the operation rooms, most notably during the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
. These operation rooms directed fighter aircraft against the Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
, mapping both home and enemy positions.
Nurses belonged to Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service
Princess Mary's Royal Air Force Nursing Service is the nursing branch of the British Royal Air Force.It was established as the Royal Air Force Temporary Nursing Service in 1918, and became part of the permanent establishment as the Royal Air Force Nursing Service on 27 January 1921...
instead. Female medical and dental officers were commissioned into the Royal Air Force and held RAF ranks.
WAAFs were paid two-thirds of the pay of male counterparts in RAF ranks.
By the end of World War II, WAAF enrollment had declined and the effect of demobilisation
Demobilization of the British Armed Forces after World War II
thumb|right|upright|A page from the official demobilization handbook, Release and Resettlement, which allowed British servicemen to calculate their 'release group number.'...
was to take thousands out of the service. The remainder, now only several hundred strong, was renamed the Women's Royal Air Force
Women's Royal Air Force
The Women's Royal Air Force was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations.The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men...
on 1 February 1949.
Ranks
Initially, the WAAF used the ATS ranking system, although the director held the rank of "Senior Controller" (equivalent to Brigadier in the BA, Air Commodore in the RAF) instead of "Chief Controller" (equivalent to Major-General, Air Vice-Marshal) as in the ATS. However, in December 1939 the name was changed to Air Commandant, when the ranks were renamed and reorganized, other ranksOther Ranks
Other Ranks in the British Army, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force are those personnel who are not commissioned officers. In the Royal Navy, these personnel are called ratings...
now held identical ranks to male RAF personnel, but officers continued to have a separate rank system, although now different from that of the ATS. From February 1940 it was no longer possible to enter directly as an officer; from that time all officers were appointed from the other ranks. From July 1941 WAAF officers held full commissions. On January 1 1943, the rank of Air Chief Commandant (equivalent to Major-General, Air Vice-Marshal) was created with the director's appointment to that rank.
| WAAF Pre-January 1940 | WAAF Post-January 1940 | RAF Equivalents |
| Aircraftwoman 2nd Class | Aircraftwoman 2nd Class | Aircraftman 2nd Class Aircraftman Aircraftman , or Aircraftwoman , is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries.... |
| Aircraftwoman 1st Class | Aircraftwoman 1st Class | Aircraftman 1st Class Aircraftman Aircraftman , or Aircraftwoman , is the lowest rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of several other Commonwealth countries.... |
| n/a | Leading Aircraftwoman | Leading Aircraftman Leading Aircraftman Leading aircraftman Leading aircraftman (LAC) Leading aircraftman (LAC) (or leading aircraftwoman (LACW) is a rank in some air forces, between aircraftman and senior aircraftman and having a NATO rank code of OR-2. The rank badge is a horizontal two-bladed propeller.... |
| Assistant Section Leader | Corporal | Corporal Corporal Corporal is a rank in use in some form by most militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. It is usually equivalent to NATO Rank Code OR-4.... |
| Section Leader | Sergeant | Sergeant Sergeant Sergeant is a rank used in some form by most militaries, police forces, and other uniformed organizations around the world. Its origins are the Latin serviens, "one who serves", through the French term Sergent.... |
| Senior Section Leader | Flight Sergeant 1 | Flight Sergeant Flight Sergeant Flight sergeant is a senior non-commissioned rank in the British Royal Air Force and several other air forces which have adopted all or part of the RAF rank structure... |
| n/a | Warrant Officer 2 | Warrant Officer Warrant Officer A warrant officer is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, or from non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer by virtue of seniority.The rank was first... |
| Company Assistant | Assistant Section Officer | Pilot Officer Pilot Officer Pilot officer is the lowest commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks immediately below flying officer... |
| Deputy Company Commander | Section Officer | Flying Officer Flying Officer Flying officer is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence... |
| Company Commander | Flight Officer | Flight Lieutenant Flight Lieutenant Flight lieutenant is a junior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many Commonwealth countries. It ranks above flying officer and immediately below squadron leader. The name of the rank is the complete phrase; it is never shortened to "lieutenant"... |
| Senior Commandant | Squadron Officer | Squadron Leader Squadron Leader Squadron Leader is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence. It is also sometimes used as the English translation of an equivalent rank in countries which have a non-English air force-specific rank structure. In these... |
| Chief Commandant | Wing Officer | Wing Commander Wing Commander (rank) Wing commander is a commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries... |
| Controller | Group Officer | Group Captain Group Captain Group captain is a senior commissioned rank in the Royal Air Force and the air forces of many other Commonwealth countries. It ranks above wing commander and immediately below air commodore... |
| Senior Controller | Air Commandant | Air Commodore Air Commodore Air commodore is an air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force... |
| n/a | Air Chief Commandant 3 | Air Vice-Marshal Air Vice-Marshal Air vice-marshal 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... |
| n/a | n/a | Air Marshal Air Marshal Air marshal is a three-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force... |
| n/a | n/a | Air Chief Marshal Air Chief Marshal Air chief marshal is a senior 4-star air-officer rank which originated in and continues to be used by the Royal Air Force... |
| n/a | n/a | Marshal of the Royal Air Force Marshal of the Royal Air Force Marshal of the Royal Air Force is the highest rank in the Royal Air Force. In peacetime it was granted to RAF officers in the appointment of Chief of the Defence Staff, and to retired Chiefs of the Air Staff, who were promoted to it on their last day of service. Promotions to the rank have ceased... |
n/a - no authorized rank 1 - also called Senior Sergeant 2 - also called Under Officer 3 - created 1943 with first appointment |
||
Directors
On July 1 1939, Jane Trefusis Forbes was made Director of WAAF, with the rank of Senior Controller, later, Air Commandant. On January 1 1943 she was appointed to the rank of Air Chief Commandant with its creation. On October 4 1943, while Forbes toured Canada, assessing the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force, she was relieved by HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, who had been head of the WAAF since 1939, again with the rank of Senior Controller, then, Air Commandant, being gazetted to Air Chief Commandant on March 22 1943. Forbes retired in August 1944, and the post of director was given to Mary Welsh, who was appointed Air Chief Commandant. After the war, the rank of Air Chief Commandant was suspended and in December 1946, the final director of WAAF, Felicity Hanbury, was appointed Air Commandant.- Air Chief Commandant Dame Jane Trefusis Forbes, June 1939 – 4 October 1943
- Air Chief Commandant HRH Princess Alice, Duchess of GloucesterPrincess Alice, Duchess of GloucesterPrincess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester was a member of the British Royal Family, the wife and then widow of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, the third son of George V and Queen Mary.The daughter of the 7th Duke of Buccleuch & Queensberry, Scotland’s largest landowner, her brothers Walter and...
, 4 October 1943 – August 1944 - Air Chief Commandant Dame Mary WelshMary WelshAir Chief Commandant Dame Ruth Mary Eldridge Dalzell Welsh, DBE, ED , known as Mary Welsh, was the third Director of the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force , from August 1944 to November 1946...
, August 1944 – November 1946 - Air Commandant Dame Felicity Hanbury, December 1946 – January 1949
WAAFs serving with SOE
Several members of the WAAF served with the Special Operations ExecutiveSpecial Operations Executive
The Special Operations Executive was a World War II organisation of the United Kingdom. It was officially formed by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton on 22 July 1940, to conduct guerrilla warfare against the Axis powers and to instruct and aid local...
during the Second World War.
- Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat KhanNoor Inayat KhanAssistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan / Nora Baker, GC, MBE , usually known as Noor Inayat Khan was of Indian Muslim origin...
(9901), posthumously Mentioned in Dispatches and awarded the French Croix de GuerreCroix de guerreThe Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
with Gold Star and the George CrossGeorge CrossThe George Cross is the highest civil decoration of the United Kingdom, and also holds, or has held, that status in many of the other countries of the Commonwealth of Nations...
, Britain's highest award for gallantry not in the face of the enemy. - Section Officer Yvonne BasedenYvonne BasedenYvonne Jeanne de Vibraye Baseden was one of only 50 or so female SOE Agents.-Background and early life:She was born in Rue Violet, Paris. Baseden's father was a World War I pilot in the Royal Flying Corps. He crash landed in France at the home of the Comte de Vibraye, where he was invited by the...
- Section Officer Yolande BeekmanYolande BeekmanYolande Beekman was a World War II spy.-Early life:...
, posthumously awarded the French Croix de Guerre. - Assistant Section Officer Sonya ButtSonya ButtSonya Esmée Florence Butt MBE, also known as Sonia d'Artois, was a heroine of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War.- Early life :Sonya Butt was born in Kent on 14 May 1924...
(9910) - Section Officer Muriel Byck
- Flight Officer Yvonne CormeauYvonne CormeauYvonne Cormeau, born Beatrice Yvonne Biesterfeld was a heroine of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War who was the second female radio operator to be sent to France and who talked her way out of arrest by pretending her wireless was an X-ray machine.-Early life:Beatrice...
, awarded the MBE, the Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, Croix de GuerreCroix de guerreThe Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
and Médaille combattant volontaire de la RésistanceCroix du combattant volontaireThe Croix du combattant volontaire may refer to one of three French military decorations rewarding soldiers who spontaneously chose to serve with a fighting unit....
. - Flight Officer Alix D'UnienvilleAlix D'UnienvilleAlix D'Unienville was a member of the Special Operations Executive during World War II and worked as a courier for the French Section....
- Flight Officer Krystyna SkarbekKrystyna SkarbekKrystyna Skarbek, GM, OBE, Croix de guerre was a Polish Special Operations Executive agent. She became celebrated especially for her daring exploits in intelligence and irregular-warfare missions in Nazi-occupied Poland and France....
(aka Christine Granville), awarded the OBE, George MedalGeorge MedalThe George Medal is the second level civil decoration of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth.The GM was instituted on 24 September 1940 by King George VI. At this time, during the height of The Blitz, there was a strong desire to reward the many acts of civilian courage...
and Croix de Guerre. - Section Officer Mary Katherine HerbertMary Katherine HerbertMary Katherine Herbert was a member of the Special Operations Executive during World War II and worked as a courier for the French Section.- Early war service :...
- Section Officer Phyliss LatourPhyliss LatourPhyliss "Pippa" Latour MBE, was a heroine of the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War.-Early life:Latour's father, Philippe, was French and married to Louise, a British citizen living in South Africa, where Phyllis was born in 1921....
- Section Officer Cecily LefortCecily LefortCecily Lefort was a British SOE agent, during World War II.-Early life:Born as Cecily Margot MacKenzie in London of Scottish ancestry, she lived on the coast of Brittany in France from the age of 24 with her French husband, Dr...
, posthumously awarded the French Croix de Guerre. - Section Officer Patricia O'SullivanPatricia O'SullivanMaureen Patricia "Paddy" O'Sullivan was a member of the Special Operations Executive during World War II and worked as a wireless operator for the French Section....
- Sergeant Haviva ReikHaviva ReikHaviva Reick was one of 32 or 33 Palestinian Jewish parachutists sent by the Jewish Agency and Britain's Special Operations Executive on military missions in Nazi-occupied Europe....
(aka Ada Robinson) - Assistant Section Officer Lilian RolfeLilian RolfeLilian Vera Rolfe was an Allied secret agent in World War II.-Early life:...
, posthumously awarded the MBE and the Croix de Guerre. - Section Officer Diana RowdenDiana RowdenDiana Hope Rowden MBE was a Special Operations Executive member who was executed in a Nazi concentration camp.-Early life:...
, posthumously awarded the MBE and the Croix de Guerre. - Section Officer Anne-Marie WaltersAnne-Marie WaltersAnne-Marie Walters MBE was a WAAF officer recruited into the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. Her code name was Colette....
, awarded the MBE.
Flying Nightingales
Nursing Orderlies of the WAAF flew on RAF transport planes to evacuate the wounded from the Normandy battlefields. They were dubbed Flying Nightingales by the press. The RAF Air Ambulance Unit flew under 46 Group Transport Command from RAF Down AmpneyRAF Down Ampney
RAF Down Ampney was a Royal Air Force station near Cricklade, Gloucestershire during World War II from February 1944 to February 1947.Down Ampney was part of a group of 3 airfields with RAF Broadwell and RAF Blakehill Farm dedicated to air transportation....
, RAF Broadwell
RAF Broadwell
RAF Broadwell was a Royal Air Force station located 2 miles north of Broadwell and 3 miles southeast of Burford, Oxfordshire, within 2 miles of RAF Brize Norton. It opened on 15 November 1943 and closed on 31 March 1947, operating under RAF Transport Command...
, and RAF Blakehill Farm
RAF Blakehill Farm
RAF Blakehill Farm was an RAF base situated in Wiltshire, England. The station was opened in 1944 as a base for transport aircraft of No. 46 Group Transport Command. In 1948 the airfield was a satellite of RAF South Cerney and used by training aircraft before the airfield closed in 1952 and was...
. RAF Dakota
Douglas DC-3
The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...
aircraft carried military supplies and ammunition so could not display the Red Cross.
Training for air ambulance nursing duties included instruction in the use of oxygen, injections, learning how to deal with certain types of injuries such as broken bones, missing limb cases, head injuries, burns and colostomies; and to learn the effects of air travel and altitude.
In October 2008 the seven nurses still living were presented with lifetime achievement awards by the Duchess of Cornwall
Duchess of Cornwall
The Duchess of Cornwall is the title held by the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. Duke of Cornwall is a non-hereditary peerage held by the British Sovereign's eldest son and heir....
.
See also
- Women's Royal Naval ServiceWomen's Royal Naval ServiceThe Women's Royal Naval Service was the women's branch of the Royal Navy.Members included cooks, clerks, wireless telegraphists, radar plotters, weapons analysts, range assessors, electricians and air mechanics...
- Women in the United States Air Force (WAF)Women in the Air Force (WAF)Women in the Air Force was a United States Air Force program which served to bring women into limited roles in the Air Force. WAF was formed in 1948, when President Truman signed the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, allowing women to serve directly in the military.WAF was distinct from the...
(1948-1976) - Women's Auxiliary Australian Air ForceWomen's Auxiliary Australian Air ForceThe Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force was formed in March 1941 after considerable lobbying by women keen to serve and by the Chief of the Air Staff who wanted to release male personnel serving in Australia for service overseas. The WAAAF was the first and largest of the World War II...
- Royal Canadian Air Force Women's DivisionRoyal Canadian Air Force Women's DivisionThe Royal Canadian Air Force Women's Division was an element of the Royal Canadian Air Force which was active during the Second World War....
Further reading
- Escott, Beryl, Women in Air Force Blue, Patrick Stephens, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-066-7
- Escott, Beryl, Our Wartime Days, The WAAF in World War II, Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1995. ISBN 0-7509-0638-3
- Escott, Beryl. The WAAF : A History of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force. Shire Publications, 2003. ISBN 0-7478-0572-5 (also quoted at http://www.geocities.com/nasenoviny/WAAFen.html in context of Czech WAAFs)
- Gane Pushman, Muriel, We All Wore Blue: Experiences in the WAAF, Tempus, 2006. ISBN 978-0752441306
- Manning, Mick, Taff in the WAAF, Janetta Otter-Barry Books (Frances Lincoln), 2010. ISBN 978-1-84780-093-0
- Rice, Joan, Sand In My Shoes: Coming of Age in the Second World War: Wartime Diaries of a WAAF, Harperpress 2006. ISBN 0-00-722820-1
- Stone, Tessa. "Creating A (Gendered?) Military Identity: The Women's Auxiliary Air Force in Great Britain in the Second World War," Women's History Review, Oct 1999, Vol. 8 Issue 4, pp 605-624, scholarly study
- Watkins, Elizabeth, Cypher Officer, Pen Press Publications, Brighton. 2008. ISBN13: 978-1-906206-27-7 A first hand account by a young WAAF cypher officer on active duty in the Egypt, Kenya, the Seychelles and Italy in World War II.
- Wyndham J, Love is Blue, Heinemann, 1986. ISBN 0-00-654201-8
- Younghusband, Eileen., Not an Ordinary Life. How Changing Times Brought Historical Events into my Life, Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff, 2009. ISBN 987-0-9561156-9-0 (Pages 36–70, 251–255 and 265–267 describe the experiences of a WAAF radar Filterer in World War II.)
- Younghusband, Eileen., One Woman's War. Candy Jar Books. 2011. ISBN 978-0-9566826-2-8
External links
- The WRAF - Women in the Blue: Working through the Second War years—Royal Air Force official website
- The Work of Women in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, The Second World War Experience Centre, Leeds UK
- "Women as Ground Crews", reproduced from The Aeroplane, No.1686, September 17, 1943
- WAAF Association
- Girlfriends, a musical about WAAFs by Howard GoodallHoward Goodall210px|thumb|Howard Goodall at St. John the Baptist Church in Devon, United Kingdom, May 2009Howard Lindsay Goodall CBE is a British composer of musicals, choral music and music for television...
: the website includes research material - Early Radar Memories; Sgt. Jean (Sally) Semple, one of Britain’s pioneer Radar Operators Retrieved: 22 June 2008
- "Corporal Lydia Alford of the Flying Nightingales". Jake Simpkin, 2006
- One Woman's War. Website of former WAAF Officer Eileen Younghusband's latest book 'One Woman's War'.