Abstract

Existing research into Australian defence force bands, including that published by the Australian Defence Force itself, assumes that women were not eligible to join mainstream military bands until the 1980s. Prior to this, it was thought women’s involvement in music in the Australia defence forces was limited to concert parties and membership of women’s auxiliary ensembles. This article will show that, on the contrary, a small group of women played in Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) bands during World War II. These women, members of the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF), were invited to join their local RAAF bands when overseas deployments limited the availability of male musicians. This study uses archival research, contemporary media reports and interviews with WAAAF veterans to explore the lives and duties of this previously unacknowledged group of defence force musicians. Despite being paid less than their male counterparts, this small group of women proudly played and marched on equal terms with the men when their country needed them, only to be excluded for another forty years once peace reigned.

摘要

对澳大利亚国防军乐队的现有研究，包括由澳大利亚国防军自己发表的研究，假设女性直到 1980 年代才有资格加入主流军乐队。在此之前，人们认为澳大利亚国防军中女性对音乐的参与仅限于音乐会派对和女性辅助乐团的成员。这篇文章将表明，与此相反，在二战期间，一小群女性在澳大利亚皇家空军 (RAAF) 乐队中演奏。当海外部署限制了男性音乐家的可用性时，这些女性是澳大利亚女性辅助空军 (WAAAF) 的成员，她们被邀请加入当地的 RAAF 乐队。本研究使用档案研究，当代媒体报道和采访 WAAAF 退伍军人，以探索这群以前未被承认的国防军音乐家的生活和职责。尽管工资低于男性同行，但当国家需要她们时，这一小群女性自豪地与男性平等地玩耍和游行，但一旦和平统治，她们又被排除在外四十年。