WINGS OVER CAMBRIDGE
CAMBRIDGE'S CONNECTIONS WITH THE WARTIME AIR FORCE

The Women's Auxiliary Air Force

The Women's Auxiliary Air Force, or WAAF (pronounced waff), was established in New Zealand in 1940 when the RNZAF began to recruit women. They were employed in all sorts of roles within the Air Force, from administrative to technical trades, and they performed as vital a role as the men in the ground staff.

The following ladies from Cambridge volunteered to join the WAAF. It has been more difficult to piece together the history of Cambridge's WAAF's, for several reasons. For one thing the newspapers never followed their Air Force careers as closely as they did the Airmen. Another reason is that many WAAF's married later and so tracking them down is all the more difficult. It has really been more a matter of luck in most cases.

There are several ex-WAAF's buried in the RSA Cemetery at Hautapu. I have chosen to add them to the list here, although as yet I have not confirmed if any of them were originally from Cambridge before the war - they may all have moved here postwar. In the case where this remain unknown, an asterisk indicates this.

Cambridge WAAFs

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

- Pearl Adams - Lois Amyes (later Lomas) - Susan Banks (later Susan Sheritt) - Thelma Stuart Browne (later Thelma Thomas) - Nina Christophers - Margaret Cornwall (later Soanes) Interviewed - Janet Edith Cox (nee Joynt) - Nancy Fairbrother (later Fisher) Interviewed - Margaret Finch - Claire Garland (later Brunskill) - Norma Garland (later Hannon) - Garnett - Kathleen Goodwin - Maisie Henry - Beth Hicks (nee Fairbrother) - Pearl Holmes (later Saunders) - Lassie Hume - Josephine McGovern - Mary McNamara (later Mary McGovern) - Olive Montgomery Interviewed - Margaret Morris Interviewed - Gwenda Nickle (later Reid) Interviewed - Melva Sayer Interviewed - Amy Trotter - Joan Watts (later Bartlett) Also - Ethel Swayne