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{{redirect|WRAC|the radio station in Ohio|WRAC (FM)}}
{{Infobox military unit
|unit_name=Women's Royal Army Corps
|image=<!-- Deleted image removed: [[File:Womens Royal Army Corps Badge.jpg|150px]] -->
|caption=Badge of the Women's Royal Army Corps
|dates=1949-19921949–1992
|country=[[United Kingdom]]
|allegiance={{flag|United Kingdom}}
|branch=[[Image:Flag of the British Army.svg|23px]] [[British Army|Army]]
|branch={{army|United Kingdom}}
|type=
|role=Support services
|size=
|garrison=[[Guildford]], [[Surrey]]
|ceremonial_chief=
|colonel_of_the_regiment=
|nickname=
|motto=''Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re'' (''Gentle in manner, resolute in deed'')
|colorscolours=None
|march=''Quick'': [[Lass of Richmond Hill]], Early One Morning<br>''Slow'': Greensleeves
|mascot=
|battles=
|notable_commanders=
|anniversaries=Corps Day (1 Feb.February)
}}
 
The '''Women's Royal Army Corps''' ('''WRAC'''; sometimes pronounced acronymically as {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|æ|k}}, a term unpopular with its members) was the [[corps]] to which all women in the [[British Army]] belonged from 1949 to 1992 except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains, (who belonged to the same corps as the men); the [[Ulster Defence Regiment]], which recruited women from 1973, and nurses, (who belonged to [[Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps]]) belonged from 1949 to 1992.
 
==History==
The WRAC was formed on 1 February 1949, by Army Order 6, as the successor to the [[Auxiliary Territorial Service]] (ATS) that had been founded in 1938.<ref Forname=history>{{cite muchweb|url=http://wracassociation.org.uk/history|title=A ofBrief itsHistory existence,of itsthe membersQueen performedMary's administrativeArmy andAuxiliary other support tasksCorps, butAuxiliary laterTerritorial theyService beganand toWomen's beRoyal attachedArmy toCorps|publisher=Women's otherRoyal corps,Army includingCorps theAssociation|access-date=18 [[RoyalMay Artillery]]2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519004905/http://wracassociation.org.uk/history|archive-date=19 andMay [[Royal2014}}</ref> Engineers]].For Inmuch theof 1980sits existence, marriedits members ofperformed theadministrative WRACand thatother hadsupport husbandstasks.<ref serving with 17name=history/21L> wereIn postedMarch to serve within1952 the Regiment as membersranks of the QM StaffWRAC, theywhich participatedhad inpreviously largebeen exercisesSubaltern, inJunior theCommander, field.Senior OtherCommander WRACand personnelController servedwere harmonised with the Royalrest Signalsof andthe RoyalBritish Army.<ref>"Army OrdnanceTitles Corpsin asthe integratedWRAC", unit''[[The members.Times]]'', 20 March 1950</ref>
 
In 1974, two soldiers of the corps were killed by the [[Provisional IRA]] in the [[Guildford pub bombings]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palacebarracksmemorialgarden.co.uk/archive/Womens%20Royal%20Army%20Corps.htm|title=Women's Royal Army Corps|publisher=Palace Barracks Memorial Garden|access-date=18 May 2014}}</ref>
 
OnIn 6October 1990 WRAC officers employed with other corps were transferred to those corps and in April 1992, the WRAC was disbanded and its remaining members transferred to the appropriateCorps corpsthey ofserved thewith. army,Those signallingwho fullserved integrationwith ofthe women[[Royal intoArmy non-combatPay roles.Corps]], Thisthe was[[Corps notof greetedRoyal withMilitary enthusiasmPolice]], bythe all[[Military membersProvost ofStaff the WRACCorps]], particularly the more[[Royal seniorArmy officersEducational and NCOsCorps]], whothe felt[[Army thatLegal advancementCorps]] wouldand bethe moreStaff difficultClerks iffrom theythe had[[Royal toArmy competeOrdnance onCorps]] anwere equaltransferred basisto withthe men.newly Thisformed was[[Adjutant inGeneral's someCorps]]. ways partly justified as theThe post of Director WRAC, which carried the rank of [[Brigadier]], was also abolished and it was seven years before a woman, Brigadier Patricia Purves, again reached that rank.<ref>Graduate Officially,Careers: sinceHow aI majoritygot ofhere: itsBrig membersPatricia hadPurves been'I administrativejust personnel,happened theto WRACbe amalgamatedgood intoat themy newjob,' [[AdjutantThe General's CorpsIndependent]]., April 26, 2001</ref>
 
==Senior posts==
Their training depot was at the WRAC Centre, Queen Elizabeth Park, [[Guildford]] in [[Surrey]].
Initially the WRAC retained the separate [[Auxiliary Territorial Service#Ranks|ATS ranking system]]. However, in March 1950, it switched entirely to Army rank titles,<ref>"Army Titles in the WRAC", ''[[The Times]]'', 20 March 1950</ref> the first of the women's services to do so (the [[Women's Royal Air Force]] switched in 1968; the [[Women's Royal Naval Service]] retained separate ranks until its disbandment in 1993). The highest rank available to a serving officer was [[Brigadier (United Kingdom)|brigadier]], held by the Director WRAC, although the Controller-Commandant, a member of the [[British Royal Family|Royal Family]], held a higher honorary rank. [[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood|Princess Mary]] held the post from 1949 to her death in 1965 (beginning as a [[Major-General general (United Kingdom)|major general]] and being promoted [[General (United Kingdom)|general]] on 23 November 1956) and the [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Duchess of Kent]] held it from 1967 to 1992 (with the rank of Major-General).<ref name=history/>▼
 
==RanksList andof uniformdirectors WRAC==
==BandDirectors of the WRAC== were:▼
The WRAC wore a distinctive Lovat green uniform and for dress occasions a [[bottle green]] uniform. Their [[cap badge]] was a lioness rampant within a laurel wreath surmounted by a crown. Their [[motto]] was ''Suaviter in Modo, Fortiter in Re'' (Gentle in manner, resolute in deed).
*[[Mary Tyrwhitt|Brigadier Dame [[Mary Tyrwhitt]], 1949–19501949–1950▼
*[[Mary Coulshed|Brigadier Dame [[Mary Coulshed]], 1950–19541950–1954▼
*[[Mary Railton|Brigadier Dame [[Mary Railton]], 1954–19571954–1957▼
*[[Mary Colvin|Brigadier Dame [[Mary Colvin]], 1957–19611957–1961▼
*[[Jean Rivett-Drake|Brigadier Dame [[Jean Rivett-Drake]], 1961–19641961–1964▼
*Brigadier Dame [[Joan Henderson]], 1964– 25 August 1967<ref>{{London Gazette |date=29 August 1967 |supp=y |issue=44395 |pages=9486}}</ref>
*Brigadier Dame [[Mary Anderson (British Army officer)|Brigadier Dame Mary Anderson]], 1967–19701967–1970▼
*Brigadier [[Sheila Heaney]], 1970–1973
*Brigadier [[Eileen Nolan]], 1973–1977
*Brigadier [[Anne Field]], 1977–1982
*Brigadier [[Helen Meechie]], 1982–1986
*[[Shirley Nield|Brigadier Shirley Nield]], 1986–19891986–1989▼
*[[Gael Ramsey|Brigadier Gael Ramsey]], 1989–19921989–1992▼
*[[Joan Roulstone|Brigadier Joan Roulstone]], 1992&ndash;19941992–1994 (as Director Women (Army) during transitional period)<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=53001 |supp=y|page=12670|date=27 July 1992}}</ref>▼
 
==ListBand of Directorsthe WRAC==▼
▲Initially the WRAC retained the separate [[Auxiliary Territorial Service#Ranks|ATS ranking system]]. However, in March 1950, it switched entirely to Army rank titles,<ref>"Army Titles in the WRAC", ''[[The Times]]'', 20 March 1950</ref> the first of the women's services to do so (the [[Women's Royal Air Force]] switched in 1968; the [[Women's Royal Naval Service]] retained separate ranks until its disbandment in 1993). The highest rank available to a serving officer was Brigadier, held by the Director WRAC, although the Controller-Commandant, a member of the [[British Royal Family|Royal Family]], held a higher honorary rank. [[Mary, Princess Royal and Countess of Harewood|Princess Mary]] held the post from 1949 to her death in 1965 (beginning as a [[Major-General]] and being promoted [[General]] on 23 November 1956) and the [[Katharine, Duchess of Kent|Duchess of Kent]] held it from 1967 to 1992 (with the rank of Major-General).
The Staff Band of the Women's Royal Army Corps was an all female military band.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-staff-band-of-the-womens-royal-army-corps-6243|title=The Staff Band of the Women's Royal Army Corps|publisher=[[Art UK]]|access-date=18 May 2014}}</ref> It was formed in 1949, and was the only all-female band in the British Armed Forces by the time it was disestablished. The Central Band of the [[Women's Royal Air Force]], which was one of only two all-female bands to exist, transferred some of its musicians to the Band of the WRAC after it was disbanded in 1972.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/units/3189/wraf-central-band |title = WRAF Central Band - Regiment History, War & Military Records & Archives}}</ref> Since the mid-1990s, women have served in all [[British Army bands]]. The instruments, assets and personnel of the former WRAC Band became the new Band of the [[Adjutant General's Corps]].
 
==Reunion meetings==
▲==List of Directors WRAC==
The WRAC organizes Reunion Meetings to promote solidarity among its former members.
▲*[[Mary Tyrwhitt|Brigadier Dame Mary Tyrwhitt]], 1949–1950
▲*[[Mary Coulshed|Brigadier Dame Mary Coulshed]], 1950–1954
▲*[[Mary Railton|Brigadier Dame Mary Railton]], 1954–1957
▲*[[Mary Colvin|Brigadier Dame Mary Colvin]], 1957–1961
▲*[[Jean Rivett-Drake|Brigadier Dame Jean Rivett-Drake]], 1961–1964
*[[Joan Henderson|Brigadier Dame Joan Henderson]], 1964–1967
▲*[[Mary Anderson (British Army officer)|Brigadier Dame Mary Anderson]], 1967–1970
*[[Sheila Heaney|Brigadier Sheila Heaney]], 1970–1973
*[[Eileen Nolan|Brigadier Eileen Nolan]], 1973–1977
*[[Anne Fields|Brigadier Anne Field]], 1977–1982
*[[Helen Meechie|Brigadier Helen Meechie]], 1982–1986
▲*[[Shirley Nield|Brigadier Shirley Nield]], 1986–1989
▲*[[Gael Ramsey|Brigadier Gael Ramsey]], 1989–1992
▲*[[Joan Roulstone|Brigadier Joan Roulstone]], 1992–1994 (as Director Women (Army) during transitional period)
 
▲==Band of the WRAC==
At the time of the WRAC's disbanding the Band of the Women's Royal Army Corps, formed in 1949, was the only all-female band in the British Armed Forces, although the [[Royal Air Force]] (which had once had its own all-female band) had already started to integrate female musicians into all of its bands. From the mid-1990s, women have served in all British Army bands. The instruments, assets and personnel of the former WRAC Band became the new Band of the Adjutant General's Corps.
 
==See also==
Line 61 ⟶ 63:
*[[Women's Royal Naval Service]]
 
==Notes References ==
{{Reflist}}
<references/>
 
==Further reading==
* Bidwell Shelford. ''Women's Royal Army Corps'' (1997) 141pp
* Noakes, Lucy. ''Women in the British Army: War and the Gentle Sex, 1907–48'' (2006), the standard scholarly history; focus on ATS
* [httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20051114182833/http://regiments.org/regiments/uk/corps/WRAC.htm WRAC archive of regiments.org]
{{reflist}}
 
[[Category:Military units and formations established in 1949]]
[[Category:British administrative corps]]
[[Category:All-female military units and formations]]
[[Category:Women's organisations based in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Military units and formations disestablished in 1992]]
[[Category:1949 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1992 disestablishments in the United Kingdom]]
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