The full title for this cap badge, First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, Women’s Transport Services 1933 – 1939, gives a clue as to the history of the unit it
Women's Transport Service F.A.N.Y Cap Badge
represents.
It is a British independent, all female unit affiliated to the Territorial Army and was formed in 1907 to provide a first aid service between the front lines and the field hospitals.
- Originally the woman were on horseback hence the name Yeomanry
- They were in life saving situations giving vital first aid before men could be moved.
- Being on horseback made them versatile in the field, able to get where field ambulances often couldn’t.
- The women were trained in signalling an drilling.
These woman were very brave and in WWI were led by Grace Ashley Smith and Lillian Franklin.
- They arrived in Calais in 1914 and stayed in France for the duration of the war
- They drove ambulances, ran field hospitals, set up soup kitchens and canteens
- Many decorations for bravery were awarded to them
In 1938 just prior to WWII, they were asked to form the Women’s Transport Service, the initial Motor Drivers Company.
- Recruits were trained in motor transport, wireless telegraphy, codes or general duties
- It became the parent unit for women who undertook espionage work for the Special Operations Executive
- 39 of the women agents sent by the Special Operations Executive were commissioned into the corps
- 3 were awarded the George Cross and one the George Medal
See the memorial to the Women’s Transport Service, follow the link……
For more resources and sources go to Intriguing Family History, follow the links and the suggested posts, as these will all give more insights into the amazing contribution made by these women and others like them.
Posted in THEME History of Organisations, UK, Theme Intriguing People, England, THEMES Artifacts, objects and documents, World War I, British Army, World War II, Military Memorabilia and Cap Badges, France, THEME Wars, battles and campaigns, Women, THEMES, TIMELINE, LOCATION, 20th Century 1900-1999, Theme Major Events, Europe
