Duty Calls

Duty Calls UK based women’s living history page. Educating current generations on female military servicewomen of WW2. Dedicated collectors, researchers and enthusiasts.

An original image of the inside of the American Red Cross Aero Club at Burtonwood. RAF Burtonwood: The 8th United States...
02/10/2026

An original image of the inside of the American Red Cross Aero Club at Burtonwood. RAF Burtonwood: The 8th United States Army Air Forces, Station 590. Base Air Depot 1 during WW2.

My local USAAF base and one that isn’t mentioned often enough. I have plenty of original images in my collection and some other posts to come in the future regarding Burtonwood, for those who are interested!

This photo was credited to James Tunison of the 8th USAAF. Credit to Malcolm Webb for posting this in the Burtonwood group.

• Duxford Battle of Britain airshow •I took the opportunity to dig out my WAAF service dress uniform for its debut on on...
23/09/2026

• Duxford Battle of Britain airshow •

I took the opportunity to dig out my WAAF service dress uniform for its debut on one of the evenings during the weekend.

We collect things so frequently in this hobby, it’s difficult to try and fit everything into just a few short events over the spring and summer. It’s now been almost two weeks since the Battle Of Britain airshow at Duxford, so this post is rather overdue!

Having sold my original WAAF section officers tunic a few years back, I was rather pleased to welcome this service dress uniform into the collection last year. It fits like an absolute dream. Included were some photos of the WAAF PT instructor which this uniform is named to, along with some more photos believed to be her brother and one image believed to be her partner.

Whilst this post is quite different for this page and is all about the WAAF uniform, I did of course take American items with me. This was just a nice opportunity to see the ensemble in its entirety, rather than the individual pieces hanging in the wardrobe, or, on a shelf. All of the original items have been collected over the course of last year and a little earlier this year. The stockings are a reproductions by Edwards Shed.

I portrayed a US flight nurse for the majority of the weekend at the airshow so, naturally, there will be a post to follow on that.

The majority of the collection (particularly camping and display equipment) is now very much packed away for the winter. A couple of old projects have been resumed and no doubt i’ll take on a few more during the off-season. Anything to make those dark nights pass by and fast forward through to the summer!

American Red Cross donut dugout at The Victory Show 2026. This was a really nice combined display to put on for the publ...
17/09/2026

American Red Cross donut dugout at The Victory Show 2026.

This was a really nice combined display to put on for the public. A real effort from all involved and great to work together towards a display, alongside The Shack Rats.

Thanks to Clive & Anne Rothwell for bringing their jeep and mobile display along each day and of course Maddie, Lee, Ruby & Redd for bringing some of our ideas together over the course of the weekend!

Great to put Betty’s Clubmobile jacket on display again and to share a little about her story & service with the American Red Cross.

There’ll no doubt be more images to follow but for now, here we are! 🍩

American Red CrossAs you can see from the original images, these girls shared some of the rugged realities of the enlist...
18/08/2026

American Red Cross

As you can see from the original images, these girls shared some of the rugged realities of the enlisted personnel with their pup tents and rations. Sometimes even sleeping beneath the Clubmobile trucks on their stops.

Despite the often harsh conditions, the American Red Cross Clubmobile girls offered a brief escape from warfare, providing a listening ear and hot drink in their tummies (amongst so much more).

Since I had the pup tent and rations out at a recent event, I figured it would be a good opportunity to capture some ARC inspired images. I’ve included original images along with said inspired images.

17/08/2026

From the Archives: Doughnut Dollies (left to right) Betty Jones of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Blanche DeClercq of Duluth, Minnesota, and Connie Briggs of Huston, Texas serve hot coffee and doughnuts to 45th Division Soldiers in Italy.

• Yorkshire Wartime • Over the weekend I took one of the Duty Calls displays to Doncaster for Yorkshire Wartime. This se...
12/08/2026

• Yorkshire Wartime •

Over the weekend I took one of the Duty Calls displays to Doncaster for Yorkshire Wartime. This set up included a recruitment station, field training and a WAC officers quarters setup. The idea behind this display was to show a few different stages of joining and being a member of the Women’s Army Corps.

The recruitment set up included our original field desk, filled with plenty of original recruitment documents, reports and booklets issued during WW2. Some of which arrived on the day of leaving for the event, so naturally they came along for the journey and featured on the display!

For the field training display, I figured it was a good opportunity to dig the pup tent out and do a small layout of some of the items that would be used by the WAC.

Finally, the WAC officers quarters. This consisted of two cot beds, original footwear, sleeping bags and a whole variety of original items that WACs were issued and would have acquired/purchased, or even re-purposed such as the crate, for example.

This was one of my favourite displays to share with the public.

28/07/2026

Three smartly turned-out women bringing the roles and experiences of wartime servicewomen into the heart of the event.

📸 Photo: Jordan Folkard

22/07/2026

The U.S. Army Women’s Museum’s digital collection contains powerful stories of the service and sacrifice of our nation’s servicewomen. One such story is that of the Accra WACS - 18 women serving with Squadron D, 1202d Army Air Forces Base Unit during World War II who, to this day, are listed as unaccounted for. These WACS were aboard one of four planes carrying WACS from Accra, British West Africa to Roberts Field, Liberia. Tragically their plane never arrived and despite extensive search efforts (that continue today) the crash site remains unknown. This event was the largest loss of WAC life during World War II. You can learn more about these women in the online exhibit “Missing in Action: The Accra WACS.”

https://awm.historyit.com/public-sites/exhibits/digitalcollections?hsxezn=kezfcv

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