Women began serving in the RAF towards the end of the First World War, when the Women’s Royal Air Force was formed in 1918. The Service was disbanded in 1920, following the end of hostilities.
When war broke out again in 1939, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force was created with a limit to the roles women could apply for. In 1941, the height of the Second World War, women were conscripted into the service, which grew to more than 180,000 personnel at its peak.