WW1 WAAC - with identifying plate - British & Commonwealth Military Badge Forum

bess55 · #1 30-04-23, 11:50 AM

Chaps is there any way of doing research on the 'number' found on the rear of this Womens Army Auxilliary Corps badge?

Its maker marked Gaunt London, with a small braised on oval plate bearing the number G1059.

Any ideas?

Bess

mike_vee · #2 30-04-23, 01:18 PM

From a 2009 thread :

Quote:

Originally Posted by James G

I have just looked at the national archives site and it appears that WAACs had numbers starting with a letter and then 4 numbers so the plate is in effect the wearers number. Unfortunately there were about 37000 WAACs in WW1 and all but 11000 WAAC records were lost during German bombing in the blitz so there is about a 1 in 3 chance of being able to identify the original owner. It also seems that the records are listed in alphabetical order of the members rather than by number so research could be a bit tedious.

James

WAAC strange plate

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Toby Purcell · #3 30-04-23, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bess55

Chaps is there any way of doing research on the 'number' found on the rear of this Womens Army Auxilliary Corps badge?

Its maker marked Gaunt London, with a small braised on oval plate bearing the number G1059.

Any ideas?

Bess

Mike has pointed out the problems, but there are some really clever genealogical detectives in the greatwarforum.org and I would recommend you try posting there. Many of them would see this as a challenge. If the woman concerned served overseas, as just some did, then a medal index card might exist. Failing that there are sometimes pension cards although all these aspects relate to only a relatively small proportion of the WAAC strength as a whole.

mike_vee · #4 30-04-23, 02:47 PM

National Archives states :

Quote:

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps service records 1917-1920

These are the service records of more than 7,000 women who joined the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) between 1917 and 1920. These records are held in series WO 398.

About 57,000 women served in the WAAC, but only 7,000 records survive.

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bess55 · #5 30-04-23, 08:22 PM

Marvellous, thank you gentlemen.

Nicest badge I've found in a while.

High Wood · #6 09-05-23, 07:34 AM

The number on your badge is much lower than on my example. I haven't tried identifying the original owner but I will give it a go.

https://www.britishbadgeforum.com/fo...ictureid=56191

High Wood · #7 09-05-23, 08:15 AM

What remains of the service papers are available on Find My Past.

Sadly, no luck for either of us but we were both close with papers for 1055 (Florence Mary Stone), 1057 (Annie Iseult) and 1068 (Daisy Eltham) surviving.

In my case, the closest were 9313 Francis Massey and 9342 Elanor Laver.

mike_vee · #8 09-05-23, 08:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by High Wood

What remains of the service papers are available on Find My Past.

Sadly, no luck for either of us but we were both close with papers for 1055 (Florence Mary Stone), 1057 (Annie Iseult) and 1068 (Daisy Eltham) surviving.

In my case, the closest were 9313 Francis Massey and 9342 Elanor Laver.

Great work , knowing where to access the , remaining , service papers will help future research.

.

bess55 · #9 09-05-23, 03:10 PM

Mate, that is fantastic - what a shame, the job roles are interesting!

I echo Mike's comments

Home Guard · #10 09-05-23, 04:11 PM

I agree with you Sean. Gives a really good idea of some of the roles these ladies played. Very much enjoyed this thread!

Terry

Alex Rice · #11 10-05-23, 05:19 AM

Hi All
I have one with G12258, any chance somebody could try to look up that number please?
Thanks, cheers,
Alex

oc14 · #12 10-05-23, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alex Rice

Hi All
I have one with G12258, any chance somebody could try to look up that number please?
Thanks, cheers,
Alex

Alex

if in fact the badge number relates to the service number then your badge was allocated to

12258 Worker Violet Kathleen Rolphe (in some records spelled Rolph). She served from 28th February 1918 until 7th November 1918.
It appears that was born in York in July 1899 and by 1911 was living with her family in Harrow on the Hill with her parents (her father was a grocer) and her five siblings (she was the eldest of six children - 3 boys and 3 girls). During her military service she was employed as a Motor Driver

Hope that helps

Paul

Alex Rice · #13 11-05-23, 05:42 AM

Hi Paul
That is amazing, thanks very much. It makes an ordinary badge quite extraordinary!
Cheers,
Alex

bess55 · #14 11-05-23, 06:07 AM

I couldnt agree more!

3dg · #15 11-05-23, 07:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oc14

Alex

if in fact the badge number relates to the service number then your badge was allocated to

12258 Worker Violet Kathleen Rolphe (in some records spelled Rolph). She served from 28th February 1918 until 7th November 1918.
It appears that was born in York in July 1899 and by 1911 was living with her family in Harrow on the Hill with her parents (her father was a grocer) and her five siblings (she was the eldest of six children - 3 boys and 3 girls). During her military service she was employed as a Motor Driver

Hope that helps

Paul

This is great work!
To have a badge picked up from anywhere and find out who it belongs to is remarkable.
Makes it more special

Chris