A Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) member of the ‘London District, shows her brand new tattoo to her fellow enlistees.
During the Second World War (1939-45) the women of the Auxiliary Territorial Service took on increasingly diverse roles. But, like their predecessors in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, they were still prevented from fighting. Their groundbreaking work was taken up in the post-war era by a new force, the Women’s Royal Army Corps.
The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) was formed in 1949. It absorbed the remaining troops of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), a wartime female force established to free up men for active service. The WRAC's creation marked the first time that women were subject to all sections of the Army Act.
The corps eventually included all women serving in the Army except medical and veterinary orderlies, chaplains and nurses. It was common for women of the WRAC to serve with other Army regiments on long-term attachments, such as with the Royal Corps of Signals, but retaining their WRAC cap badge. This opened up more and more roles to women.
In 1952, ranks in the WRAC were aligned with the rest of the British Army. Eventually, women worked in over 40 trades, including as staff officers, clerks, chefs, dog handlers, communications operators, drivers, intelligence analysts, military police women, and postal and courier operators.
But there were some areas of Army service where progression was slower. It was not until the 1980s that women were allowed to train in, carry and use firearms. And it wasn’t until 1984 that women were allowed to undergo their officer training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst. Before then, they had a separate training college, the Women’s Royal Army Corps College, Camberley.