The Corps of French Female Volunteers (, or CVF) was a military auxiliary service established by the

Free French forces __NOTOC__ The French Liberation Army ( ; AFL) was the reunified French Army that arose from the merging of the Armée d'Afrique with the prior Free French Forces (; FFL) during World War II. The military force of Free France, it participated ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was founded on 7 November 1940 as the Female Corps (, CF) and was inspired by the precedent of the

Auxiliary Territorial Service The Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS; often pronounced as an acronym) was the women's branch of the British Army during the World War II, Second World War. It was formed on 9 September 1938, initially as a women's voluntary service, and existe ...

(ATS) and was the first female unit in the

military history of France The military history of France encompasses an immense panorama of conflicts and struggles extending for more than 2,000 years across areas including modern France, Europe, and List of former European colonies, a variety of regions throughout the ...

. It was initially commanded by

Simonne Mathieu Simonne Mathieu ( Passemard;) (31 January 1908 – 7 January 1980) was a tennis player from France, born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, who was active in the 1930s. She won the French Championships singles title in 1938 and 1939. During ...

and later by Hélène Terré. Initially only 26-strong, the CF was intended to provide personnel to serve in clerical and secretarial functions that would enable male personnel to be dispatched to front-line units. The CF was renamed on 16 November 1941 and formally integrated into the Free French Forces. It numbered 430 women by July 1943. It was disbanded in May 1944 at the start of the

Liberation of France The liberation of France () in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany in ...

and was superseded by the Arme féminine the following month.

Notable personnel

(1908-1980), tennis player and first commanding officer * Hélène Terré (1903-1993), second commanding officer *

Tereska Torrès Tereska Torrès (born Tereska Szwarc; 3 September 192020 September 2012) was a French writer known for the 1950 book '' Women's Barracks'', the first "original paperback bestseller." In 2008 historians credited the republished book as the first p ...

(1920-2012), author of the fictionalised memoir '' Women's Barracks'' (1950). * Éliane Brault (1895-1982), politician and freemason.

References

;Bibliography *

Notable personnel

References

Further reading