‘We kept breaking all the barriers for women in the Army’
A VETERAN’S thrilling career is among those being celebrated as the Women’s Royal Army Corps Association marks its 75th anniversary in Guildford this month.
From driving trucks straight after her A levels, to near-misses with ballistics, keeping women safe from “nearby male barracks”, roles at NATO and spearheading female admittance to Sandhurst, Audrey Smith’s Army career is quite a tale.
Audrey, 84, did not initially plan on joining the Army. She went to the University of Nottingham in 1957 to read economics and recalls being excited about eventually getting a job in that field. However, that all changed when she got there.
She said: “We went to the freshers fair. I got to the OTC (university Officers Training Corps) stand and we chatted away. We went back to our hall of residence and the female Sergeant Major kept appearing and saying, ‘you know, you must come and join the OTC.’ We were not keen on this. But eventually, after about a week, we were worn down.”
Soon after joining she was driving every single vehicle on offer, including an articulated lorry, as she had a driving licence.
Audrey recalls that “we used to drive all the cadets in the back of a three-tonne truck to camp, and all they did was sit on their kit bags”.
Her enthusiasm meant that by her second year she was asked if she wanted to go for a commission in the Territorial Army.
Despite passing the board, there were no vacancies for a woman in the area and she was sent to her local regiment, where she ended up in a WRAC battalion.
The Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC) was formed in 1949 following the disbanding of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). It was the corps to which all women in the British Army belonged to until 1992, when it was integrated.
The WRAC Association helps support veterans with their post-Army life, including financial support.
Audrey’s career went from strength to strength despite her being possibly the only WRAC officer who embarked on a regular career with no formal training.
One memory that stands out is a near-miss with a missile in 1965.
She was the officer responsible for providing records for some gunner trials when she found herself in a precarious position.
She said: “I was standing on top of a hill when I suddenly wondered why I was standing on my own. Then I saw this weapon. I had never moved so fast in my life.”
Her job took her all over the UK and the world. She was posted to Cyprus, Berlin and Singapore where she learnt some important life skills.
Audrey added: “It was extremely exciting. I was very lucky. I was probably one of the officers who spent most time abroad. I spent something like at least a third to a half of my service abroad. Singapore was my first overseas posting. I had the most fantastic time and did lots of travelling and learnt to water ski. I ended up competing in the Singapore water ski championships.”
After her tour she was promoted to Major and posted to commandant of the newly-opened Duchess of Kent Barracks in Aldershot.
Audrey said: “I mean, it was enormous. It had 466 beds for service women, and 35 beds for sergeants. It had its own medical centre, its own gym. It was a complete sort of little complex.”
Her time in the Army was not only personally remarkable, but also reflects the transformation in the roles of women. When she joined the WRAC women did not even carry guns (something she soon tried to negotiate).
Audrey played a pioneering role in moving things forward and was responsible for preparing the papers which led to women first going to Sandhurst in 1984.
She said: “We broke all sorts of glass ceilings. We had people going to the Army Staff College, which is quite normal now but only a very small number went to the Army Staff College. Then, you were in a position that you could compete for jobs in exactly the same way as the men could.
“When I left the Army Staff College, I got a job as the senior officer in charge of personnel, in Shrewsbury,
and of course, when I finished the job I handed over to a man because it could be done by a man or a woman.
“It was a period of transformation at the WRAC. It was a wonderful step forward that we could actually have a full career. And then, gradually, we kept breaking the barriers all the way up. I was the fifth officer to go to the Army Staff College, the second officer to go to the Joint Services Staff College and the second officer to become a Lieutenant Colonel on the staff. I didn’t feel that I was discriminated against but I was probably lucky that I was managing to break the last ceilings.”
However, it was not easy. She added: “If you took on these jobs, you had to make sure you did them well because if you didn’t no one else would ever follow you because a woman can’t do it. We had to work terribly hard to be good.”
Her achievements were recognised when she was awarded Freedom of the Borough of Guildford, where she has lived on and off for several decades.
The 75th anniversary of the WRAC Association was marked by a service in Guildford Cathedral on Thursday, February 1.