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The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existed until 1 February 1949, when it was merged into the Women's Royal Army Corps .
Rank group General / flag officers ... Auxiliary Territorial Service [1] (1941–1949) Chief controller ... Women's Auxiliary Air Force (1939–1940) Senior ...
It was founded on 7 November 1940 as the Female Corps (French: Corps féminin, CF) and was inspired by the precedent of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) and was the first female unit in the military history of France. It was initially commanded by Simonne Mathieu and later by Hélène Terré. Initially only 26-strong, the CF was intended ...
Prior to World War II, in 1938 the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) was created, with 20,000 women serving in non-combat roles during the conflict as well as serving as military police. Some women took part in direct combat roles as part of mixed gender teams manning heavy anti-aircraft batteries and gun crews within Britain.
Many women wanted to play an active role in the war, and hundreds of voluntary women's auxiliary and paramilitary organisations had been formed by 1940. [52] A shortage of male recruits forced the military to establish female branches in 1941 and 1942. [ 52 ]
14 June–20 August – Tientsin Incident: the Imperial Japanese Army blockades British trading settlements in the north China treaty port of Tientsin. 28 June – the Women's Auxiliary Air Force is created, absorbing the forty-eight RAF companies of the Auxiliary Territorial Service which have been formed since 1938. [12]
Pont-Saint-Esprit, France: Allegiance United Kingdom: Service / branch: Women's Voluntary Service; Auxiliary Territorial Service Special Operations Executive; Special Allied Airborne Reconnaissance Force: Years of service: 1944–1945: Unit: T Section: Battles / wars: Second World War: Awards: Croix de Guerre (Belgium); Mentioned in Despatches (UK)
Cap Badge of the Auxiliary Territorial Service By 1941, after two years of war Anti-Aircraft Command , tasked with defending the UK against air attack, was suffering a manpower shortage. In April its commander-in-chief, Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick 'Tim' Pile , proposed to overcome this by utilising the women of the Auxiliary Territorial ...