The WAAAF in Wartime Australia by Joyce A Thomson

Book Description

Secondhand. Good condition. Wear to book corners and edges. A mark on both inside front cover and front endpage. Otherwise interior is still very good. Mark on right foredge. Dust jacket is in good condition with creasing at top edge and spine.

The formation of the Women's Auxillary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) in 1941 changed the role of women in wartime. No longer restricted to voluntary support and nursing roles, the 27,000 women who served in the WAAAF were constituted as a branch of Australia's permanent Air Force.

Working in 72 of the 120 RAAF trades, with officers and airwomen involved in intelligence and chemical warfare research, the WAAAF also carried out duties in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands despite the official ruling that they be sent no further north than Cairns.

Drawing on archival documents and interviews and skilfully using many diverse and evocative photographs, Joyce Thomson firmly establishes the WAAAF's place in the history of aviation and para-military organisations. She examines the political and public debate stirred by its formation and its development amidst male prejudice and the changing status of women. (book flap)