The Women's Auxiliary Service (WAS) (, ''Pestki'') was a unit of

Polish Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Republic of Poland (, ; abbreviated SZ RP), also called the Polish Armed Forces and popularly called in Poland (, roughly "the Polish Military"—abbreviated ''WP''), are the national Military, armed forces of the Poland, ...

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 ...

established in 1941 by initiative of Lt. Gen.

Władysław Anders Władysław Albert Anders (11 August 1892 – 12 May 1970) was a Polish military officer and politician, and prominent member of the Polish government-in-exile in London. Born in Krośniewice-Błonie, then part of the Russian Empire, he serv ...

, while creating

Polish Armed Forces in the East The Polish Armed Forces in the East (), also called Polish Army in the USSR, were the Polish military forces established in the Soviet Union during World War II. Two armies were formed separately and at different times. '' Anders' Army'', crea ...

.Maria Maćkowska, ''Pomocnicza Służba Kobiet w Polskich Siłach Zbrojnych'',

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, 1990, p. 11Anna D. Jaroszynśka-Kirchmann, ''The exile mission: the Polish political diaspora and Polish Americans, 1939-1956'',

Ohio University Press Ohio University Press (OUP) is a university press associated with Ohio University. Founded in 1947, it is the oldest and largest scholarly press in the state of Ohio. Ohio University Press is also a member of the Association of University Presses ...

, 2004, , p. 30 ''Pestki'' worked as

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (profession), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * C ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

s in schools for

war orphan War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organize ...

secretaries A secretary, administrative assistant, executive assistant, Personal assistant, personal secretary, or other similar titles is an individual whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project manageme ...

in staffs,

pilots An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they are ...

, drivers, etc.Witold Biegański, ''Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Zachodzie 1939-1945'', Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1990, p. 69Witold Biegański, ''Walki formacji polskich na Zachodzie, 1939-1945'', Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1981, , p. 341Bernard A. Cook, ''Women and war: a historical encyclopedia from antiquity to the present'', ABC-CLIO, 2006, , p. 474 In active service there were around 4,000 volunteers in any time of

, but 1 July 1945, in time of highest abundance, there were 7,000 women in WAS. In 1944 WAS was transferred to II Corps in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. In July 1944 Minister of National Defence reorganized WAS separating three new units: * Women's Army Auxiliary Service (WAAS) (''Pomocnicza Wojskowa Służba Kobiet, PWSK)'' * Women's Air Force Auxiliary Service (WAFAS) (''Pomocnicza Lotnicza Służba Kobiet, PLSK)'' * Women's Naval Auxiliary Service (WNAS) (''Pomocnicza Morska Służba Kobiet, PMSK)'' The same

bylaw A by-law (bye-law, by(e)law, by(e) law), is a set of rules or law established by an organization or community so as to regulate itself, as allowed or provided for by some higher authority. The higher authority, generally a legislature or some other ...

established Headquarters of WAAS, Commandants of WAAS, WAFAS, WNAS and Superintendents to corps and armies' commands.

Commissioned officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent ...

s were appointed by the

President of the Republic of Poland The president of Poland ( ), officially the president of the Republic of Poland (), is the head of state of Poland. His or her prerogatives and duties are determined in the Constitution of Poland. The president jointly exercises the executiv ...

Military rank Military ranks is a system of hierarchy, hierarchical relationships within armed forces, police, Intelligence agency, intelligence agencies, paramilitary groups, and other institutions organized along military organisation , military lines, such ...

s were also harmonized with ranks of

Polish Armed Forces in the West The Polish Armed Forces in the West () refers to the Polish Armed Forces, Polish military formations formed to fight alongside the Allies of World War II, Western Allies against Nazi Germany and its Axis powers, allies during World War II. Poli ...

. First Superintendent of WAS was Władysława Piechowska, another was

Zofia Leśniowska Zofia Wanda Leśniowska (''née'' Sikorska; 2 March 1912 – 4 July 1943) was the daughter of Lieutenant-General Władysław Sikorski. She was a first lieutenant (''porucznik'') in the Polish Armed Forces. She died together with her father in th ...

.Wincenty Iwanowski, ''Z dziejów formacji polskich na Zachodzie, 1939-1945'', Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1976, p. 172 The WAS was disbanded in March 1946.

References

Bibliography

* Biegański Witold, ''Polskie Siły Zbrojne na Zachodzie 1939-1945'', Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, 1990 * Biegański Witold, ''Walki formacji polskich na Zachodzie, 1939-1945'', Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1981, * Biegański Witold, Brodala Jan, ''Regularne jednostki wojska polskiego na Zachodzie'', Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1973 * Bobińska Anna, ''Pomocnicza Wojskowa Służba Kobiet 2 Korpusu 1941-1945'', Krupski i S-ka,

, 1999, * Cook Bernard A., ''Women and war: a historical encyclopedia from antiquity to the present'', ABC-CLIO, 2006, * Car Edward M., ''Kobiety w szeregach Polskich Sił Zbrojnych na Zachodzie, 1940-1948'', Oficyna Wydawnicza Adiutor, 1995, * Dzierżek Anna, Galczewska Zofia, Horbaczewska Irena, Poliszewska Halina, Kaczorowski Ryszard, ''Pomocnicza Służba Kobiet w Polskich Siłach Zbrojnych na Zachodzie 1939-1945'', Koło Kobiet Żołnierzy PSZ w Wielkiej Brytanii, London 1995, * Iwanowski Wincenty, ''Z dziejów formacji polskich na Zachodzie, 1939-1945'', Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1976 * Jaroszynśka-Kirchmann Anna D., ''The exile mission: the Polish political diaspora and Polish Americans, 1939-1956'',

, 2004, * Maćkowska Maria, ''Pomocnicza Służba Kobiet w Polskich Siłach Zbrojnych'',

, 1990

External links

History of Women's Auxiliary Service
{{Authority control All-female military units and formations Polish women in World War II Polish resistance during World War II

See also

References

Bibliography

External links