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Women's Royal Army Corps
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC; sometimes pronounced acronymically as /ˈræk/, a term unpopular with its members) was the corps to which all women in the British Army except medical, dental and veterinary officers and chaplains (who belonged to the same corps as the men) and nurses (who belonged to Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps) belonged from 1949 to 1992.
The WRAC was formed on 1 February 1949 by Army Order 6 as the successor to the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) that had been founded in 1938. For much of its existence, its members performed administrative and other support tasks, but later they began to be attached to other corps, including the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. On 6 April 1992, the WRAC was disbanded and its members transferred to the appropriate corps of the army, signalling full integration of women into non-combat roles. Ironically perhaps, this was not greeted with enthusiasm by all members of the WRAC, particularly the more senior officers and NCOs, who felt that advancement would be more difficult if they had to compete on an equal basis with men. This was in some ways partly justified, since the post of Director WRAC, which carried the rank of Brigadier, was abolished and it was seven years before a woman, Brigadier Patricia Purves, again reached that rank. Officially, since a majority of its members had been administrative personnel, the WRAC amalgamated into the new Adjutant General's Corps.
The WRAC wore a distinctive green uniform. Their cap badge was a lioness rampant within a laurel wreath surmounted by a crown. Their motto was Suaviter in Modo, Fortiter in Re (Gentle in manner, resolute in deed). Their depot was at Guildford in Surrey.
At the time of the WRAC's disappearance, the Band of the Women's Royal Army Corps was the only all-female band in the British Armed Forces, although the Royal Air Force (which had once had its own all-female band) had already started to integrate female musicians into all of its bands. From 1992, women have served in all British Army bands.