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Joan was in the ATS
Posted: 14 May 2020 20:25
by BJD
Can anyone out there tell me where I might find records of my mum JOAN SENNECK being in the ATS. I ave a photo of here in uniform but that is all. She must have been very young when she joined up. She was only 19 when I was born in 1945.
Re: Joan was in the ATS
Posted: 15 May 2020 07:14
by MaryA
I know there are not as many records for WW2 available as there are for WW1, in fact for a serviceman's record you do need to order it from the MOD, who make a charge of about £30, however I don't know of anybody having successfully obtained a record for ATS so whatever luck you have will you please let us know how you get on. Meantime I think your starting point should be the National Archives
https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/hel ... tish-army/
Re: Joan was in the ATS
Posted: 15 May 2020 09:02
by AndyJ
You might be interested in this book about the ATS in WW2:
Girls in Khaki
After the war the ATS became the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC) and the WRAC were later absorbed into the Adjutant General's Corps, so contacting (and later, perhaps visiting) the
AGC museum might be useful for getting more details of ATS activities in general, although the museum is unlikely to have any records which specifically relate to your mother.
Also there's a short history of the ATS on the
Forces War Records website which contains the following about the age a person could join:
As more men joined the war effort, it was decided to increase the size of the ATS, with numbers reaching 65,000 by September 1941. Women between the ages of 17 and 43 were allowed to join, although these rules were relaxed in order to allow WAAC veterans to join up to the age of 50. The duties of members were also expanded, seeing ATS orderlies, drivers, postal workers and ammunition inspectors.
Other links worth looking at are:
the History Press
BBC History and
ATS Remembered