Women's Royal Army Corps: Difference between revisions

|garrison=[[Guildford]], [[Surrey]]

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]]).

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 name=history>{{cite web|url=http://wracassociation.org.uk/history|title=A Brief History of the Queen Mary's Army Auxiliary Corps, Auxiliary Territorial Service and Women's Royal Army Corps|publisher=Women's Royal Army Corps Association|accessdateaccess-date=18 May 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurlarchive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140519004905/http://wracassociation.org.uk/history|archivedatearchive-date=19 May 2014}}</ref> For much of its existence, its members performed administrative and other support tasks.<ref name=history/> In March 1952 the ranks of the WRAC, which had previously been Subaltern, Junior Commander, Senior Commander and Controller were harmonised with the rest of the British Army.<ref>"Army Titles in the WRAC", ''[[The 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|accessdateaccess-date=18 May 2014}}</ref>

In October 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 Corps they served with. Those thatwho served with the [[Royal Army Pay Corps]], the [[Corps of Royal Military Police]], the [[Military Provost Staff Corps]], the [[Royal Army Educational Corps]], the [[Army Legal Corps]] and the Staff Clerks from the [[Royal Army Ordnance Corps]] were transferred to the newly formed [[Adjutant General's Corps]]. The 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 Careers: How I got here: Brig Patricia Purves 'I just happened to be good at my job,' [[The Independent]], April 26, 2001</ref>

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/>

==List of Directorsdirectors WRAC==

*Brigadier Dame [[Mary Anderson (Women's RoyalBritish Army Corps directorofficer)|Mary Anderson]], 1967–1970

*Brigadier [[Helen Meechie]], 1982–1986

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]]|accessdateaccess-date=18 May 2014|df=}}</ref> It was formed in 1949, and was the only all-female band in the British Armed Forces by the time it was dissestablisheddisestablished. 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]], making the Band of the WRAC obslete. The instruments, assets and personnel of the former WRAC Band became the new Band of the [[Adjutant General's Corps]].

The WRAC organizes Reunion Meetings to promote the solidarity among its past and currentformer members.