Instructions in the use of the Owen gun. Belmont, Queensland. X
The Australian Women’s Army Service, created to release more men into forward positions in the military during the Second World War, was formed on the 13th of August, 1941.
Sergeant Pritchard (right), the only Japanese translator in the Australian Army. X
The AWAS was preceded by the Women’s Australian National Service in 1940, where women proved they were capable of performing traditionally male roles.
The Minister for the Australian Army, the Honourable F.M. Forde, with AWAS members in Western Australia in 1943.
24 026 women were enlisted over the course of the war, and several hundred served in New Guinea.
The AWAS was disbanded in 1947.