The Women's Radio Corps (WRC) was established by Edna Owen (generally credited under her husband's name, Mrs Herbert Sumner Owen) and an advisory council during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The aim of this branch of the

US Army Signal Corps The United States Army Signal Corps (USASC) is a branch of the United States Army responsible for creating and managing communications and information systems for the command and control of combined arms forces. It was established in 1860 by ...

was to recruit women to train as wireless operators, in order to replace male wireless operators who had gone to war. The activities of the Corps converged with the wartime wireless activities and training of the National League for Women's Service whose training classes were directed by Owen.

Foundation

The Women's Radio Corps was established during

by Edna Owen and an advisory council consisting of many influential figures in the field of wireless communications: Gano Dunn, past president of the

American Institute of Electrical Engineers The American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) was a United States–based organization of electrical engineers that existed from 1884 through 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) to form the Inst ...

; Alfred Goldsmith, co-founder of the

Institute of Radio Engineers The Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE) was a professional organization which existed from 1912 until December 31, 1962. On January 1, 1963, it merged with the American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE) to form the Institute of Electrical ...

; Edward J. Nally, vice president and general manager of the

Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (commonly called American Marconi) was incorporated in 1899. It was established as a subsidiary of the British Marconi Company and held the U.S. and Cuban rights to Guglielmo Marconi's radio (then ...

; and

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

professor Michael Pupin, then president of the

. The council was chaired by Owen herself and responsibility for the supply of wireless training apparatus for the WRC fell to Nally's commercial manager,

David Sarnoff David Sarnoff (February 27, 1891 – December 12, 1971) was a Russian and American businessman who played an important role in the American history of radio and television. He led the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) for most of his career in ...

. A mere six days after the US entered the war in April 1917, Owen offered to provide 500 licensed female wireless operators in six months. In order to achieve this highly ambitious goal, Owen campaigned tirelessly to add recruits, lecturing up to 200 young women at once in lectures in New York and Washington, D.C., on the "many wonderful opportunities" brought by the occasion of the "great world war. . . . is your duty to prepare yourselves in order that you may set men free, that they may go to the front and fight for you and yours." Members of the Women's Radio Corps took the same courses and received the same wireless licenses from the US Bureau of Navigation as male wireless operators. The first activity of the WRC was to teach wireless classes for drafted men on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. Members of the WRC also served as inspectors of wireless apparatus and worked in the Radio Research and Development section of the

After the war

With the Armistice declared in November 1918, the WRC was not demobilised but rather changed tack and began training women to work as commercial wireless operators - they believed wireless telegraphy was "one of the most important of the many new careers open to women" - as the US wireless stations nationalised during the war returned to private ownership. By late 1918, some of the members of the WRC had moved to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where they joined many other single women in filling in for male workers in government bureaucracies, setting up a boarding house and establishing their headquarters at 2834 14th Street in the Columbia Heights neighbourhood. By January 1919, their membership had dwindled to 21 and it appears the corps was disbanded.

References

Sources and Further reading

* * {{cite news, title=Here's a New Career for Girls; Women's Radio Corps Offers It, url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=m3gLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RFQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1886%2C1940491, accessdate=16 May 2014, newspaper=The Evening Independent, date=9 January 1919 American women in World War I International volunteer organizations Military units and formations established in 1918 Military units and formations disestablished in 1919 All-female military units and formations