Australian Army Museum of Western Australia > Records

AWAS on Rottnest -WF94307 ARCHER (married FLOWER)

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Subcollections

Australian Women's Army Service on Rottnest

Overview

Documentation relating to the AWAS service of WF94307 Private Ethel Lorna Flower (nee Archer) of Inglewod, born Margaret River

Historical information

Ethel Lorna Archer was born on 3 November 1924 in Margaret River, Western Australia. Her mother was Elaine Pearl Stevens and her father was Lionel Rendell Archer.

She married Edwin Laurence Flower in November 1944 and the surname Flower is shown on her service record. Her address during this period is shown as Whitfield Street, Bassendean. Edwin also served, with a service number of WX5785.

When she enlisted, on 11 February 1943, she was working as a shop assistant. She was sent for training at AWAS No. 6 training unit and then joined 15 Australian Fort Company in March 1943. She was transferred to Heavy Artillery (Fremantle Fixed Defences) in May 1943. Her records show she attended 39 ACH (Rottnest Island field hospital) in March 1943.

The records do not provide any information regarding her trade or classification, however her discharge unit is shown as the Officers Club (Catering Services) on 30 December 1944.

Ethel’s father also served as a Sapper in the Army (WX4819) and was captured on Crete in 1941. He was an Prisoner-of-War for four years before returning home and being discharged in November 1945.

Details

Registration number

cwa-org-32-54-004

Contextual Information

The Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) was formed in late 1941, two years after the outbreak of World War 2. Australian women had been agitating for some time for the chance to join the War Effort. They wanted to do “real work, not knit sock for the men.” The primary aim of AWAS was to release men from some military duties so they could be deployed in fighting units.

Initial recruitment was for duties associated with “women’s work”, clerks, cooks and typists, still being done my male soldiers. Beginning in early 1942 as invading Japanese swept through the South West Pacific towards Australia, many more military trades were opened to women including signals, weapons plotting, drivers, which involved close contact with the coast defence systems on Rottnest.

This collection brings together the stories of women in the Australian Women’s Army Service who were deployed on Rottnest Island as part of the defences of Fortress Fremantle from 30 September 1942 onward. The content is based on a “Saluting Their Service” exhibition developed by the Rottnest Voluntary Guides on the 80th Anniversary of this deployment. The exhibition was presented at Kingstown Barracks, Rottnest Island from 8-9 October 2022 and at the Australian Army Museum of Western Australia from 9 – 17 November 2022.

Geotag

-33.953835039369, 115.07325713385

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Links to additional resources

Service Records

DVA Nominal Roll

Australian Army Museum of Western Australia

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