Page 96 - KBHA BULLETIN 6

The Kalk Bay / Muizenberg

South African Women's Auxiliary Services (S.A.W.A.S.)

Mike Walker

Indtroduction

The South African Women’s National Service Legion, a forerunner to S.A.W.A.S., was

formed in Cape Town in 1939 at the outbreak of war. Mrs. Brinton, the Mayoress of Cape
Town, was the Chairlady. The organization soon spread to Johannesburg and then

throughout the country. Not long after the founding of this movement the value of women’s
voluntary organizations was recognized and the Department of Defence, under the

Director-General of Recruiting, Brigadier G. C. G. Werdmuller, officially changed the
name to the South African Women’s Auxiliary Services (S.A.W.A.S.). At its height, more

than 65,000 women were registered with S.A.W.A.S for volunteer service throughout the

country.

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