RAF Lossiemouth has marked the 85th anniversary of the first members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force to arrive at the Station by releasing previously unseen images of its wartime WAAFs.
The first women in uniform came to Lossie on 21 October 1939. They were to play a prominent role at the Station over the next six years.
Sixty-four WAAFs under the command of Company Assistant Lydall would primarily work as drivers, initially in support of 15 Flying Training School. A lack of accommodation on the station – which was only opened five months earlier – saw the WAAFs billeted in Lossiemouth town.
Left to right are Isobel McCall, Corporal Annie Robb, Mina Christie and Meg Welsh.
85 years on, women have served in every role on Station, including as Station Commander.
WAAFs served primarily as part of 46 Maintenance Unit, which fitted out and maintained new aircraft before they were dispatched to the front line. WAAF personnel also worked in Flying Control, the Photographic Section, as nurses and in the maintenance of survival equipment.
Photo courtesy of J Cooper, now held by the RAF Lossiemouth Station Heritage Centre.
Sergeant van der Beek and Sergeant Coverdale are pictured.
Lossie’s WAAF’s distinguished themselves during the War.
One tale that has passed into local legend is that of a Nursing Orderly, Corporal Lucas. On 20 July 1944 an airframe failure saw a Wellington from 20 OTU crash into the sea off West Beach. Corporal Lucas was visiting the Stotfield Hotel and, seeing the aircraft spin into the sea, rushed out to try and save the stricken crew. Overcome by the fumes and oily water, she instead turned her attention to a fellow rescuer who had got into difficulty. The six-man crew of the Wellington and an RAF airfitter, who had also swam out to sea during the rescue attempt, died in the accident.
1945 saw Lossie’s WAAFs recognised for their efficiency, when they won the Sunderland Cup, alongside RAF Snaith.
