‘Despatch Dames’

In 1917 the British Army broke with centuries of tradition and allowed women to enlist in the ranks of a new formation being created to release more troops to serve in combat roles. The units was known as the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps, with members serving in various roles including, drivers, cooks and telephonists. The title was changed to the Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps in April 1918 and by the time it was disbanded in September 1921 more than 57,000 women had served in its ranks — including some 17,000 overseas.

Many believed that was the end of a women’s branch in the Army, but in the late 1930s as tension in Europe increased, it was decided to once again accept women into the service. On Sept. 9, 1938 a Royal Assent was issued to allow for the formation of the Auxiliary Territorial Service, ATS, and recruit women between the ages of 18 and 50. Their roles were to include cooks, drivers and clerks, later extending to signals duties.

When war broke out in September 1939, the Women’s Transport Section of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry, an all-female voluntary unit raised in 1907, supplied 1,500 motor mechanics to serve with the ATS. They were, however, to remain separate from the ATS and would wear their own unit badges,

The offer was taken up and when the British Expeditionary Force, BEF, was sent to France in 1939. Some 300 ATS also went. During the retreat from Dunkirk in 1940, members of the ATS, especially those engaged in signals duties, would be among the last to leave France.

As the war progressed the role of ATS expanded to include radar operations. Women also served in mixed anti-aircraft batteries as target predictors. By the end of the war, some 190,000 women had served in the ranks of the ATS. Before the war many of them had been successful actors, authors and academics.

As a military historian and journalist reporting on vehicle shows and re-enactment events, I have seen many displays involving women depicting ATS serving in searchlight units and mixed anti-aircraft batteries. Earlier this year, while attending Wartime in the Vale Show in Evesham, Worcestershire, I met up with a newly formed group calling themselves the “Despatch Dames” who depicted the role of ATS despatch riders in WWII. They were one of the first displays in the arena and demonstrated their skills in handling their machines — which included Norton M20s, Royal Enfield “CM” and Matchless motorcycles.

After their display I got to talk at length with Anne Voorham, from Holland, who, along with fellow enthusiast Lydia Hurley, got the idea to form the group as a tribute to the ATS despatch riders in WWII. Voorham has a deep interest in the ATS and explained how, back in 2016, she had the idea for creating a female motorcycle unit. Move the clock forward several years and today there are nine girls of varying ages, in what they term a “loose affiliation”, and this was their first public show as a group. They were supported by four male re-enactors in Royal Corps of Signals uniforms, who played the roles of riding instructors, as well as presenting displays to show training lessons in maintenance and servicing of the machines.

Naturally, all the girls are motorcycle enthusiasts, each holding current motorcycle licenses, some with many years experience. Jen Bourne has been riding for several years and at the show was riding a Matchless G3L. Her sister, Sam Bourne, however, is a novice rider, although she has been re-enacting for almost three years, first as Women’s Land Army before switching to the ATS.

Every Despatch Dame wears the uniform of the ATS, with some wearing goggles, leather jerkins and gauntlets. Some also have either FANY badges on their sleeves, to denote their branch of service, or “flying wheels” with MC on their left cuff to denote motorcyclist.

It was fascinating to spend time talking with such a lively and deeply committed group of like-minded ladies. For the weekend of the event they had been given accommodation in an authentic wartime Nissen hut, one of several which have been saved and erected on the site like an open-air museum. The girls said they were excited to be sleeping in a real wartime hut, even if it was bunkbeds, and they had settled in to make themselves comfortable. Not only was it the first show for the group as a whole, but for some of the girls it was their first-ever time to
re-enact and they took to it like real ATS recruits. A couple of the girls had been loaned period motorcycles for the show and their handling of these historic machines was perfect.

The girls say role playing is their salute to those who did it for real during the war. Their commitment in continuing to remember the role of the ATS is inspirational.

Although not deployed to combat roles, more than 700 ATS were killed and wounded during the course of their service. The ATS continued until February 1949 when the unit was renamed the Women’s Royal Army Corps.

After meeting these delightful girls I came away with the impression that we are going to see and hear a lot more about them.