Military Chat

JoyLouise -

Your mum would not have had to leave the WAAF when she married, but certainly would have when she became pregnant.

One of my aunts was in the WAAF, and was stationed at Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland.

My Mum joined the WAAF during WW2. She came out either when she married or after she had me - not sure which event would have ended her time with the WAAF but I am sure someone will know.

She then worked for Littlewoods (remember the pools company?) until we moved from Liverpool,

Good Morning I have applied for my Aunt’s service record via the link from ArgyllGran. I do not have a way of scanning her death certificate and I do not know if you can turn a photo into a pdf document. Fingers crossed I will get the information.

Info here about ATS records at the National Archives:

https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/women-in-british-army/

ATS
Anyone doing research on women who served in the ATS during WW11, and not the late Queen, let me know, my mother served, based mainly in North Shields, was discharged after the war at York. I got her service record a number of years, but interested in the ATS, and those who served with her (will very likely be grandchildren of those who served). Tried a number of years ago, but was told records started to be thrown out after the war of those who served in the ATS.

My Gran was Gladys Elizabeth Swanston. I think she enlisted in 1942 because my paternal Aunt, Eleanor Fitzgerald de Ros, said she remembers seeing my Gran when they both enlisted. This was not discovered until my Mum started dating my Dad several years later. My Aunt enlisted 5th May 1942. Really appreciate all of the assistance on GR.

The register isn’t updated nowadays unless someone submits the info.

Info online if you google

The WAAF entry was only a suggestion by the person who posted it on here. Not a proven identity - especially as the second forename is NOT that of your grandmother, as per her marriage record.

Thank you for letting me know. My mother is deceased so not sure what it has not been picked up. My grandmother was not a stickler for rules and registered one of my Aunt’s births as my grandfathers and then registered her again several days later with the actual father. This was only discovered about 6 years ago so she could have signed up in her maiden name.

She was not in the Air Force……she would have enlisted in her correct name.

Yvonne’s record on 1939 is closed because she was born after 1925 and her death (if she is deceased) has not been picked up by FMP…………100 year rule applies to ALL people recorded in 1939.

If you read the info about ack ack, you will see that Gladys must have been ATS

I was told by my Mum, Yvonne Segers, that my Gran had joined the Army but she had been evacuated to Hertfordshire along with her brother so that could have been an assumption. My Aunt told me my Gran was stationed at Colchester and was ack ack so It is good to know she was actually in the Royal Airforce. I do not understand why my Gran enlisted in her maiden name but She was not one for following rules. My Grandfather was Albert Edward Baden Segers and was not able to join any of the services having spent time in a sanitarium as a child with TB which left him with a deformed arm. What does it mean the record for Yvonne , my mother, is officially closed? Thank you so much for all this information

Ack-ack (anti-aircraft) guns in WW2 were primarily manned by mixed-gender units of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and the Royal Artillery, with men loading and firing the weapons and women operating essential support roles such as height and range finders, spotters, and predictor teams. Though women were officially forbidden from firing the guns, they performed vital, high-pressure calculations and tracking tasks crucial to the success of the guns, often in dangerous conditions and experiencing intense training similar to the men.

Marriages Jun 1929 (>99%)
Segers Albert E Swanston Pancras 1b 188
Swanston Gladys E Segers Pancras 1b 188

1939 Register
The Haven Jubilee Road, Crays Hill, Billericay U.D., Essex, England
Albert E (B) Segers 09 Mar 1900 Male Carpenter Married 111 1
Gladys E Segers 06 Oct 1909 Female Unpaid Domestic Duties Married 111 2
The record for this person is officially closed. (Yvonne)
Hugh B Segers 12 May 1932 Male At School Single 111 4

"Gladys Segers (nee Swanston) she left the Army 1943"
Definitely Army ???

Because.......


UK, Royal Air Force Nominal Index of Airmen and Airwomen, 1918-1945

Full Name
Swanston, Gladys
Information
They joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. They were enrolled by the Inspectorate of Recruiting. They enlisted after May 1941.
Service Number 2037406
Service Royal Air Force
Primary Unit Royal Air Force
Archive Reference AIR 78/154/1

or

Swanston, Gladys May
UK, Royal Air Force Nominal Index of Airmen and Airwomen, 1918-1945
Full Name Swanston, Gladys May
Information
They joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force. They were enrolled by the Inspectorate of Recruiting. They enlisted after May 1941.
Service Number 2080351
Service Royal Air Force
Primary Unit Royal Air Force
Archive Reference AIR 78 154 1

UK, Long Service Good Conduct Medal, 1830-1979

Full Name De Ros, E
Rank Name Sergeant
Service Number W/184876
Authority Date 1956
Service British Army
Primary Unit Women's Royal Army Corps
Secondary Unit Territorial Army
Archive Reference WO102_39

Similar entry to above except
Authority Date 1962
Clasps 1st Clasp ********
Service British Army
Archive Reference WO102_39

Thank you for the advice

During WW2, there was no regular women's army.
The WRAC came into being in 1949 - superceding the ATS, which was a wholly territorial service.

GOOGLED

WRAC stands for the Women's Royal Army Corps, the women's branch of the British Army from 1949 to 1992. It provided roles like staff officers, clerks, and drivers, and its members now receive support from the WRAC Association, a charity that offers camaraderie, support, and events for servicewomen. The WRAC was succeeded by the Women's Royal Army Corps Association (WRACA), which supports female veterans of the ATS, WRAC, and modern British Army.

To obtain copy records, apply in exactly the same way as you would for a male serviceman, providing death cert(s) if required.

I have found she attended a PT Training course British Army of the Rhine Training Centre 13 Sep 1945 to 5th October 1945 and was with Unit ATS Signals Germany

Hi If I understand correctly women were attached to various Army regiments but were know collectively as Woman’s Royal Army. My Aunt served in Germany at the end of the war and then went on to become a Sergeant Major in the TA. Her Army number was W/184876. She served in the TA with the WRAC Battalion 301 Eastern Command. Eleanor (Eloner) Fitzgerald de Ros DOB 1/06/1923. She enlisted Southend 5th May 1942. I still have her uniform and lots of memorabilia including a photo of her in the 563 S/L Regt. R.A. (28th Essex) (TA) Review of Territorial Army by HM The King Hyde Park London 31st October 1948 along with a letter from RHQ TA Centre Chestnut Grove Brentwood thanking her for the fine work she is doing for the Regiment and TA. She was discharged from the Army 26th April 1949 as a Corporal into the TA. Also my maternal Grandmother joined the Army and was based at Colchester on the anti aircraft guns. I do not know her number. Gladys Segers (nee Swanston) she left the Army 1943 as was pregnant with my Aunt. Would be grateful for any advice/assistance in finding out more about both members of my family. I am aware that the 100 years rule applies.