Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS). (1942-1951)

Function
Armed services organisation
NLA Persistent Identifier
http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-757050

Biographies

The Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS) was established in December 1942. At that stage it was decided to distinguish between Voluntary Aid Detachments, whose governing body was the Joint State Council in each State and the Joint Central Council (the Commonwealth authority), and Voluntary Aids who were serving at Military Hospitals on a full-time basis under Army control. [1] Author Patsy Adam-Smith, herself a member of the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) who joined the AAMWS, states in Australian Women at War: "From that date [December 1942], the Service's officers and soldiers were subject to military law and to the provisions of the Defence Act, the Army Act and the Rules of Procedure…'The majority of the original recruits for the AAMWS were drawn from the ranks of the Voluntary Aid Detachments, and the experience they already had was of great benefit in their work in military hospitals, both home and overseas.'" In July 1949 the Australian Army Medical Women's Service became part of the Regular Army. Two years later The Service was disbanded and its duties were incorporated into the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps. [1] Australian Women at War p. 194 and From Blue to Khaki p. 50

  • December 1942 - February 1951 The Australian Army Medical Women's Service established to distinguish between full-time military Voluntary Aids and those attached on a voluntary basis to the aid organisations
  • 1946 Served in Japan with the British Commonwealth Occupation Force (BCOF)
  • July 1949 AAMWS approved to become part of the Regular Army
  • February 1951 Australian Army Medical Women's Service was disbanded and incorporated into the Royal Australian Army Nursing Corps

View the full record at Australian Women's Register

Related people and organisations

Australian Women's Register

Resources for Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS).

Selected resources (31)

Australian Women's Register

  1. Voluntary Aid Detachments
    Australian War Memorial
    Series: http://www.awm.gov.au/encyclopedia/vad.htm
  2. Our kind of war
    Critch, Mary
    [1981]
    Published: Artlook Books Trust
  3. Just wanted to be there : Australian Service Nurses 1899-1999
    Reid, Richard
    [1999]
    Published: Commonwealth Department of Veterans' Affairs
  4. From blue to khaki: The enlisted voluntary aids and others who became members of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service and served from 19421-1951
    Mount-Batten, Betty J
    [1995]
    Published: Betty J Mount-Batten
  5. Colonel Best and her soldiers: The Story of the 33 years of the Women's Royal Australian Army Corps
    Ollif, Lorna
    [1985]
    Published: Ollif Publishing Company
  6. The Australian Army: A History of its Organisation 1901-2001
    Palazzo, Albert
    [2001]
    Published: Oxford University Press
  7. Australian nurses since Nightingale 1860-1990
    Burchill, Elizabeth
    [1992]
    Published: Spectrum Publications Pty Ltd
  8. Soldiers of the Queen : women in the Australian Army
    Bomford, Janette
    [2001]
    Published: Oxford University Press
  9. Australian Servicewomen's MemorialWar Memorials in Australia Michael Southwell-Keely : Australian Servicewomen's Memorial
    Southwell-Keely, Michael
    [1999]
    Series: http://www.skp.com.au/memorials/pages/00018.htm
  10. Australian women at war
    Adam-Smith, Patsy
    [1984]
    Published: Nelson
  11. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: V81999 Captain W. J. J. McGee, assisted by VF500148 Major A. R. Appleford (22 March 1943)
    Melbourne, Vic. 1943-03-22. V81999 Captain W. J. J. McGee, assisted by VF500148 Major A. R. Appleford, member of the Red Cross, MM; Assistant Controller of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS), Victorian Land and Communication Area, examining kit and records of members of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS) posted to operational areas.
    138235
  12. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: V81999 Captain W. J. J. McGee, assisted by VF500148 Major A. R. Appleford (22 March 1943)
    Melbourne, Vic. 1943-03-22. V81999 Captain W. J. J. McGee, assisted by VF500148 Major A. R. Appleford, member of the Red Cross, MM, Assistant Controller of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS), Victorian Lines of Communication Area, examining kit and records of members of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS) posted to operational areas.
    138233
  13. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: The leaders of the Australian Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) (28 September 1942)
    Melbourne, Vic. 1942-09-28. The leaders of the Australian Red Cross Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) VF500148 Major A. R. Appleford (nee Ross-King) RRC MM; Assistant Controller Australian Army Medical Womens Service (AAMWS) and Captain D. Townsend; Lieutenant M. Williamson give "eyes right" as they pass the saluting base during the servicewomen's march through the city streets.
    136909
  14. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, with Captain P. Williamson, Australian Army Medical Women's Service (6 October 1944)
    Melbourne, Vic. 1944-10-06. VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, with Captain P. Williamson, Australian Army Medical Women's Service, after inspecting personnel participating in the second victory loan march through the city.
    080896
  15. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Australian Army Medical Women's Service 1944-09-30 - 1944-10-04 (30 September 1944 - 4 October 1944)
    Melbourne, Vic. 1944-09-30 - 1944-10-04. Officers at the conference of Assistant and Deputy Assistant Controllers, Australian Army Medical Women's Service. Identified personnel are:- NFX76442 Captain L.W. Yates; VFX138505 Major R M. Davidson; NFX138446 Major J.M. Snelling; SFX30364 Lieutenant-Colonel M.S. Douglas; VF500148 Major A. Appleford, RRC, MM; QF119238 Major M.C. Roche; SFX27688 Captain M.M. Langsford; VFX117124 Major H.F. Meyer; TFX6117 Captain I.D. Cox; WFX38344 Captain S.C. Perry.
    080687
  16. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Australian Army Medical Women's Service conference of Assistant and Deputy Assistant Controllers (30 September 1944 - 4 October 1944)
    Melbourne, Vic. 1944-09-30 - 1944-10-04. Officers at the conference of Assistant and Deputy Assistant Controllers, Australian Army Medical Women's Service. Identified personnel are:- SFX27688 Captain M.M. Langsford; VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, SFX30364 Lieutenant-Colonel M.S. Douglas; NFX138446 Major J.M. Snelling; QF119238 Major M.C. Roche; VFX138505 Major R.M. Davidson; NFX76442 Captain L.W. Yates; WFX38344 Captain S.C. Perry; VFX117124 Major H.F. Meyer; TFX6117 Captain I.D. Cox.
    080686
  17. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, Assistant Controller (6 September 1944)
    Camp Pell, Vic. 1944-09-06. VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, Assistant Controller conducting a kit inspection of members of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service on draft for northern areas, assisted by Captain H.B. McKenzie, Staff Captain "Q" Victorian Lines of Communications area. Identified personnel are:- Corporal L. Lawson; Private N. Schreiber.
    069125
  18. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Members of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service at the 115th Heidelberg Military Hospital (24 May 1944)
    Melbourne, Vic. 1944-05-24. Her excellency, Lady Zara Gowrie, wife of the Governor General of Australia inspecting members of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service at the 115th Heidelberg Military Hospital, prior to her return to England. Identified personnel are, left to right:- VFX64621 Captain M.S. Williamson; VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC., MM.; VFX65349 Lieutenant D.M. Mackrell; Lady Gowrie; Private L.I. Trewin; Private M.C. Carroll; Private L. Wakefield; Private V. Boocock, back row; Private McNuff; Private Brain, Private R.M. Spencer; Private B.M. Baker, Private V.M. Phillips, Private H. Lindsay.
    066316
  19. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, Assistant Controller, Australian Army Medical Women's Service (6 September 1944)
    Camp Pell, Vic. 1944-09-06. VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, Assistant Controller, Australian Army Medical Women's Service inspecting the kits of members who are on draft to northern areas. Assisting Major Appleford is VF65581 Lieutenant S.F. Dammon officer in charge of the draft for the 2/9th Australian General Hospital.
    069124
  20. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Join the AAMWS (1939 - 1945)
    ARTV01081
  21. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Herring, Enid Jessie, Assistant Controller, AAMWS, b: 1912 (1939 - 1952)
    Research material used by Mrs Herring in writing "They Wanted to be Nightingales" a history of the Australian Army Medical Women's Service during the 1939-1945 war (including BCOF). Includes letters from former members of voluntary aid detachments and Australian Army Medical Women's Service, photocopies from journals including "The Women's Weekly", notes, articles, draft chapters (items 2-8). Also draft and typed version of the manuscript (items 1A and 1B). The manuscript was commenced in W2 with additions in 1970's.
    3DRL/8023
  22. National Archives of Australia, Melbourne Office: Change of title from VAD [Voluntary Aid Detachment] to AAMWS [Australian Army Medical Women's Service] (1942)
    MP508/1
  23. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Australian servicewomen's memorial (1999)
    Whereas more conventional war memorials may incorporate a cenotaph or a representative figure, Anne Ferguson has created a bare platform of coloured stones, divided in two by a curved trench that resembles an aerial view of a river, carving its way through a sparse, flat landscape. While most memorials encourage audiences to keep a reverential distance, to stand outside the experience of war and reflect upon it, Ferguson wants the viewer to walk right into the middle of the work, to experience a sense of empathy with the women it celebrates. The insignia of the women's services are displayed discreetly around the mosaic, because for Ferguson, ceremony is far less important than the human dimension. For many women, the work they undertook during the Second World War provided a first taste of freedom and responsibility. When the war ended and those jobs were given back to the men, it must have come as a bitter blow, because their lives and way of thinking had already been changed. It is this sense of metamorphosis that Ferguson has tried to capture in her stone mosaic, in which the variegated colours represent the different lives, the different backgrounds and experiences of servicewomen. Set in a peaceful grove between the deciduous trees, the sculpture changes the appearance in relation to the changes in daylight, the play of shadows, and the sprinkling of leaves that fall haphazardly onto the stone. Ferguson draws a parallel between the gradual process of awakening to the environment in which we live, and a growing recognition of the debt we owe to those men and women who gave their time, and their lives, in defence of this land. Her stone platform may be undemonstrative, but it has a feeling of underlying strength. It is a foundation upon which new recognitions can be built. Granite mosaic 40.3 x 540 x 720 cm
    ART90968
  24. National Archives of Australia, Melbourne Office: Army Medical & Dental Corps. Nurses and Specialists [Applications for a Commission in the A.A.M.C. Voluntary Aid Detachments (V.A.D.)] - A R Appleford (September 1942)
    MP508/1
  25. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Army Women's Services (1939 - 1945)
    41 loose typed mimeographed pages outlining the history, rates of pay, conditions of service for Australian Army Women's Services, (Australian Army Medical Corps, Australian Army Nursing Service and Australian Army Medical Women's Services).
    MSS0780
  26. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Lila Stocks Voluntary Aid Detachment and Private Australian Army Medical Women's Service
    Lila Stocks (born McKenzie), Voluntary Aid Detachment and Private Australian Army Medical Women's Service, interviewed by Angie Michaelis for the Keith Murdoch Sound Archive of Australia in the War of 1939-45. Discussing joining VAD; training at Ingleburn Camp; posting to 114 Australian General Hospital; posting to 2/5th Australian General Hospital; New Guinea; nursing POWs; contact with American servicemen; uniforms; nursing duties; hospital conditions; social life.
    S00552
  27. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Jill Linton Private Australian Army Medical Women's Service
    Jill Linton (born Oliver), Private Australian Army Medical Women's Service, interviewed by Angie Michaelis for the Keith Murdoch Sound Archives of Australia in the War of 1939-45. Discussing joining the Voluntary Aid Detachment; training; assignment to the 2/5th Australian General Hospital; change to AAMWS; nursing in New Guinea; contact with American servicemen in Papua New Guinea; nursing POWs; uniforms; working conditions; use of drugs for skin diseases; leisure.
    S00553
  28. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, Assistant Controller, Australian Army Medical Women's Service, Victorian Lines of Communication Area (5 October 1944)
    Melbourne, Vic. 1944-10-05. VF500148 Major A.R. Appleford, RRC, MM, Assistant Controller, Australian Army Medical Women's Service, Victorian Lines of Communication Area.
    080772
  29. National Archives of Australia, Melbourne Office: Army Medical & Dental Corps. Nurses and Specialists [Applications for a Commission in the A.A.M.C. Voluntary Aid Detachments (V.A.D.)] - J M Snelling (October 1942)
    MP508/1
  30. National Archives of Australia, Melbourne Office: Army Medical & Dental Corps. Nurses and Specialists [Applications for a Commission in the A.A.M.C. Voluntary Aid Detachments (V.A.D.)] - J L Christie (September 1942)
    MP508/1
  31. Australian War Memorial Research Centre: Studio portrait of NF482322 Lieutenant (Lt) Elva Baikie (1944)
    Lieutenant (Lt) Elva Baikie, Amenities Officer for the Army women's services (including the Australian Army Medical Women's Service (AAMWS), Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) and Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS)). Lt Baikie encouraged the women to brighten up their barracks by supplying material for bedspreads, floor stain, rugs and paint, along with the motto `Make your barracks spell HOME'. Lt Baikie also organised a musical comedy and a revue in the Darwin area, with the girls who took part improvising their costumes. Lt Baikie also organised sporting matches and a Combined Services Swimming Carnival held in the Darwin Baths. (Donor E. Batt)
    P02715.001

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