WW2 uniform, please tell me what this lady did?

[guest259648]

Please see photo.
Lady furthest left, standing at the back, in uniform - cap + skirt.

Can you identify the uniform? Or tell me what war job she might have done?

The wedding is 1943 Birmingham. We don't know who she is... yet!

Thank you.

[ShaunJ]

Looks like ATS. She's wearing a greatcoat.

Compare the cap:  https://www.ukphotoarchive.org.uk/photos-of-women-in-ww2/hBD00DD15#hbd00dd15

[dowdstree]

My husband thinks she was in the WAAF's.

He says there is an RAF wings shoulder flash.

Hope this helps.

Dorrie

[guest259648]

Looks like ATS. She's wearing a greatcoat.

Compare the cap:  https://www.ukphotoarchive.org.uk/photos-of-women-in-ww2/hBD00DD15#hbd00dd15

Shaun J
Thank you for your interest and the link.
I am no expert here, so I need to be guided.

Certainly the cap on the wedding photo looks 'frilly' - with that wiggly top, and I can see the ATS cap is very similar.
I'm now considering the badge on the cap - and the ATS badge seems to have a little bulge on the top, whereas my lady's badge seems circular?... What can you see?

D

[guest259648]

My husband thinks she was in the WAAF's.

He says there is an RAF wings shoulder flash.

Hope this helps.

Dorrie

Dorrie, many thanks (to your husband too)...
This WAAF 'shoulder flash' - am I looking for something that resembles wings?

I am a complete beginner, when it comes to uniforms, so I'm listening carefully to whatever you say.
D

[dowdstree]

My husband says yes to your question Dulciebun.

Dorrie

[guest259648]

My husband says yes to your question Dulciebun.

Dorrie

Dorrie, bless you

I feel a real amateur when asking what Forces things look like - I was brought up in the '50s and the war was hardly mentioned: the older people around me seemed to want to forget it, and they would rarely describe their uniforms or experiences. But now many years have passed, it's become OK to ask, and dig, and I want to know a lot more.

Yes I can make out a pair of wings on the shoulder, it's shadowy but I'd say it's there. So this would confirm WAAF?

If so, where can I look, to find appropriate records?  I have an idea of the lady's first name but alas no surname. But she would have been Birmingham-bred, that's almost certain, and so presumably she signed up in Brum. I'm happy to scan thousands of names to see if anything rings a bell.

D

[dowdstree]

My husband is ex RAF - joined in 1957 - so he googled "images of WAAF WW2 uniform" and there is a photo on bing.com/images which clearly shows the shoulder flashes and cap badge. Tried to put it on here for you but the file is too large, sorry.

You might want to take a look at it for comparison.

Hope this helps,

Dorrie

[medpat]

If you take a closer look you can't see the end of the shoulder of the lady. As you can't see the top of the sleeve you can't see the RAF eagle.

Greatcoats had 2 rows of brass buttons and you are seeing the top righthand button