Corporate Open DS/UK/12533 Royal Air Force; Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF); 1918-1994; British women's branch of the Royal Air Force Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) Royal Air Force 1918-1994 British women's branch of the Royal Air Force Female

Military; Air Force The Women's Royal Air Force (WRAF) was a women's branch of the Royal Air Force which existed in two separate incarnations. The first WRAF was an auxiliary organization of the Royal Air Force which was founded in 1918. The original intent of the WRAF was to provide female mechanics in order to free up men for service in World War I. However, the organization saw huge enrolment, with women volunteering for positions as drivers and mechanics and filling other wartime needs. This first WRAF was disbanded in 1920. The last veteran from this era was for a while thought to be Gladys Powers, who died in 2008, but Florence Green, who died in February 2012 was subsequently found to be the last-known surviving WRAF veteran. On 1 February 1949, the name was revived when the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, which had been founded in 1939, was renamed the Women's Royal Air Force. The WRAF and the RAF grew closer over the following decades, with increasing numbers of trades opened to women, and the two services formally merged in 1994, marking the full assimilation of women into the British military and the end of the Women's Royal Air Force. The Central Band of the WRAF, one of only two all-female bands in the British Armed Forces, was disbanded in 1972. Some of its musicians transferred to the Band of the Women's Royal Army Corps. International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families - ISAAR(CPF) 2nd edition - ICA 2004 ISBN 2-9521932-2-3 National Council on Archives, Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997 Yes RAHdroberts 2/12/2014 Rachael.Fragola 3/1/2022 2b4f6107-a948-46fd-91a2-2abb241ac988