Clothes for Work

This khaki wool gabardine suit with a beige silk shirt was supplied by Geo. B Ashford Ltd of Birmingham, and the khaki felt hat is labelled "Woodrow, Piccadilly, London". The bronze hat and lapel badges have the letters "WAAC". It was worn by Olive K Jordan, whose rank was Acting Administrator. This rank was equivalent to an Army captain, but the women's services were not allowed to use army rankings.

The Women's Army Auxilliary Corps was formed in 1917, after several years of pressure and struggle on the part of influential women who wanted to provide what they saw was much-needed back-up to the front line fighting forces.
There were four sections: Clerical, Mechanical, Cookery, and Miscellaneous. Many of the women who joined up worked in France, in camps alongside the main army units, carrying out their duties as store keepers, clerks and record keepers, motor mechanics, signallers, cooks, and gardeners in the war cemetries. Although non-combatant, their work was often dangerous, and they were exposed to air raids and shells. Their recruiting slogan was "The girl behind the man behind the gun"

Full item descriptions:

"woman's auxiliary army corps uniform" [1947.2536/10], Geo. B. Ashford Ltd. (Inc. W. Gent & Son), Hatters

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Sexuality
Suits for Men & Women