Auxiliary Territorial Service

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.

The ATS had its roots in the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC), which formed in 1917 as a voluntary service. During the First World War its members served in a number of jobs including clerks, cooks, telephonists and waitresses. The WAAC was disbanded after four years in 1921.

Prior to the Second World War, the government decided to establish a new Corps for women, and an advisory council, which included members of the Territorial Army (TA), the Women's Transport Service and the Women's Legion, was set up. The council decided that the ATS would be attached to the Territorial Army, and the women serving would receive two thirds the pay of male soldiers.

All women in the Army joined the ATS except for nurses, who joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service (QAIMS), and medical and dental officers, who were commissioned directly into the Army and held Army ranks.

The ATS in action

File:ATS Search Light.jpg

A couple members of an ATS searchlight unit.

The first recruits to the ATS were employed as cooks, clerks and storekeepers. At the outbreak of the Second World War, 300 ATS members were billeted to France. As the German army advanced through France, the British Expeditionary Force was driven back towards the English Channel. This led to the evacuation of troops from Dunkirk in May 1940, and some ATS telephonists were among the last British personnel to leave the country.

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.

The National Service Act

In December 1941, Parliament passed the National Service Act, which called up unmarried women between 20 and 30 years old to join one of the auxiliary services. These were the ATS, the Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS), the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and the Women's Transport Service. Married women were also later called up, although pregnant women and those with young children were exempt.

Other options under the Act included joining the Women's Voluntary Service (WVS), which supplemented the emergency services at home, or the Women's Land Army, helping on farms.

There was also provision made in the Act for objection to service on moral grounds, as about a third of those on the conscientious objectors list were women. A number of women were prosecuted as a result of the Act, some even being imprisoned. Despite this, by 1943 about 9 out of 10 women were taking an active part in the war effort.

Women were barred from serving in battle, but due to shortages of men, ATS members, as well as members of the other women's voluntary services, took over many support tasks, such as radar operators, forming part of the crews of anti-aircraft guns and military police. However, these roles were not without risk, and there were, according to the Imperial War Museum, 717 casualties during WW2.^[1] One recorded casualty was Ivy Berwick, who died on duty on 30 April 1942, aged just 25. She is buried in the Hamilton Road Cemetery, Deal, Kent., and her grave is still maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

By VE Day and before demobilization, there were over 190,000 members of the Women's Auxiliary Territorial Service.

Famous members of the ATS included Mary Churchill, youngest daughter of the Prime Minister, and Princess (later Queen) Elizabeth, eldest daughter of the King, who trained as a lorry (truck) driver.^[2]

Post-war

After the cessation of hostilities women continued to serve in the ATS, as well as in the WRNS and WAAF. It was succeeded by the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRAC), which formed on 1 February 1949 under Army Order 6.

Ranks

Initially ranks were completely different from those of the Army, but used the same rank insignia, although the crown was replaced by a laurel wreath.^[3] Members were required to salute their own superior officers, but not other organizations' officers, although it was considered courteous to do so.^[3]

On 9 May 1941, the ATS rank structure was reorganized, and as of July 1941 the ATS was given full military status and members were no longer volunteers. The other ranks now held almost identical ranks to Army personnel, but officers continued to have a separate rank system, that was somewhat modified. All uniforms and badges of rank remained the same, although crowns replaced laurel wreaths in the rank insignia. Members were now required to salute all superior officers.

The only holders of Chief Controller were the first three Directors, promoted to the rank on their appointment, and Princess Mary, who held it from 1939 and was appointed the ATS's honorary Controller-Commandant in August 1941.

When other ranks were assigned to mixed-sex batteries of Anti-Aircraft Command starting in 1941, they were accorded the Royal Artillery versions of ranks: Gunner, Lance-Bombardier, and Bombardier.

Pre-June 1941 ATS ranks	June 1941 ATS ranks	Post-1938 British Army ranks
Volunteer	Private / Gunner ¹	Private / Gunner ²
Chief Volunteer	Lance-Corporal / Lance-Bombardier ¹	Lance-Corporal / Lance-Bombardier
Sub-Leader	Corporal / Bombardier ¹	Corporal / Bombardier
Section Leader	Sergeant	Sergeant
n/a	n/a	Staff Sergeant / Colour Sergeant
n/a	n/a	Warrant Officer Class III ³
Senior Leader	Warrant Officer Class II	Warrant Officer Class II
n/a	Warrant Officer Class I	Warrant Officer Class I
Company Assistant	Second Subaltern	Second Lieutenant
Deputy Company Commander	Subaltern	Lieutenant
Company Commander	Junior Commander	Captain
Senior Commandant	Senior Commander	Major
Chief Commandant	Chief Commander	Lieutenant-Colonel
Controller	Controller	Colonel
Senior Controller	Senior Controller	Brigadier
Chief Controller	Chief Controller	Major-General
n/a	n/a	Lieutenant-General
n/a	n/a	General
n/a	n/a	Field Marshal

n/a - no authorized rank ¹ - used when assigned to AAC batteries ² - various names used depending on unit ³ - no new appointments after 1940

List of Directors ATS

Chief Controller Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, July 1939–July 1941
Chief Controller Jean Knox, July 1941–October 1943
Chief Controller Dame Leslie Whateley, October 1943–April 1946
Senior Controller Dame Mary Tyrwhitt, April 1946–January 1949

Notable ATS personnel

Princess Elizabeth, later Queen Elizabeth II, who rose to the rank of junior commander.
Susan Hibbert, sergeant who typed the English version of the German surrender.
Mary Churchill, youngest daughter of Winston Churchill.

Notes

^ "THE AUXILIARY TERRITORIAL SERVICE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR" (PDF). The Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
^ "Her Majesty the Queen – Early Public Life". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2009-02-27.
^ ^a ^b "Badges of Rank in the ATS", The Times, 30 September 1939

External links

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[1] "THE AUXILIARY TERRITORIAL SERVICE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR" (PDF). The Imperial War Museum. Retrieved 2009-02-27.

[2] "Her Majesty the Queen – Early Public Life". Official website of the British Monarchy. Retrieved 2009-02-27.

[ranks-3] "Badges of Rank in the ATS", The Times, 30 September 1939

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