MAUNSELL, Marcia Livingstone
| Service Number: | 109093 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 8 April 1943 |
| Last Rank: | Aircraftwoman |
| Last Unit: | Not yet discovered |
| Born: | Bankstown, New South Wales, Australia, 20 March 1925 |
| Home Town: | Bankstown, Bankstown, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | St George Girls High School, New South Wales, Australia |
| Occupation: | Not yet discovered |
| Died: | Ovarian cancer, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia , 23 December 2009, aged 84 years |
| Cemetery: | Not yet discovered |
| Memorials: |
World War 2 Service
| 8 Apr 1943: | Enlisted Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftwoman, 109093 | |
|---|---|---|
| 15 Feb 1946: | Discharged Royal Australian Air Force, Aircraftwoman, 109093 |
My Mother
I wish I'd asked mum more about her time in the WAAAF when she were alive. Now, all I have are scant memories from stories she told me when I was young. She enlisted in the Air Force in 1943 when she was 18, so this would have been a few months after finishing her Leaving Certificate. Her Statement of Service, which gives her rank as Aircraftwoman, lists her postings as Ascot Vale, Nowra, Sydney, Lowood, Melbourne and Bradfield Park. I can clearly remember her speaking about her time at the RAAF Station in Nowra, because that's where she learnt morse code and shorthand. I can still hear her saying out loud...”dah dah de dah dah de dah dah”!
My mother was very clever. She was dux of her primary school and won a scholarship to St George Girls High, a selective high school in Sydney, so I know she would have been very good at whatever job she was assigned. Wherever she went, mum made lifelong friends, and I know this includes her time in the WAAAF. That was a very special time in her life.
Submitted 24 January 2022 by Carolyn Kidd
Biography contributed by Carolyn Kidd
Marcia Kidd, nee Maunsell, comes from a long line of descendants going back hundreds of years who served their country in times of war. In her immediate family, her father (Lewis) fought in both world wars and was awarded the Military Medal for Bravery in the Field in 1916; her grandfather (Richard) fought in the First World War, and her brother (Allan) and her uncle (also an Allan) both lost their lives in WWII & WWI respectively.
From a very early age, Marcia dreamed of travel. Her father walked her to her primary school every day and filled her head with romantic stories of his time spent in London, while on recreational leave from active service in France.
During her three years as an aircraftwoman in the WAAAF (she enlisted in 1943 upon finishing her Leaving Certificate), her postings were all in Australia, but her dreams of travelling to Europe finally became a reality in 1950 when, at the age of 25, she boarded a ship bound for England.
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