An aviation pioneer that led the way

The first South African woman to volunteer for full-time war service was Phyllis Doreen DUNNING (maiden name HOOPER), who did so on June 1, 1940. Doreen passed away on August 26, 2008, in Howick, South Africa, at the age of 91. Her husband, Edwin Keith DUNNING, was born in Nigel. In 1968, he passed away in Natal. They had four children: Richard Edwin Harris, Simon Edward, Judith, and Diana.

At the age of 22, she assumed the role of major and officer commander in the South African Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (SAWAAF). She achieved this rank as the youngest officer in the British Commonwealth. By 1941, Doreen was one of 36 pilots with A licenses in the SAWAAF.

She was born in Johannesburg and finished her schooling under private instruction after attending Boksburg Convent School. When she was nine years old, her parents took her to visit Alan COBHAM’s “flying machine” in Barberton, which sparked her interest in flight. Doreen inscribed her name on the fabric of the plane, which allowed anyone to write theirs. She began taking flying lessons with the Johannesburg Light Plane Club at Baragwanath on July 3, 1935, shortly after turning eighteen. Captain Stan HALSE, an RFC pilot during World War I, was her instructor when she learnt to fly the Gipsy Moth (ZS-ADW). After earning her A licence in just two weeks and nine hours of flight time, she decided to pursue a career in aviation.

She flew a Gipsy II Moth and finished second in the Vereeniging-Durban-Vereeniging air competition in 1936. After receiving her B licence on October 30, 1936, she became South Africa’s first female commercial pilot. Employment at Rand Airport with African Flying Services came next. After travelling to England in February 1937, she participated in the Oases Race in Egypt. She placed 23rd out of 40 competitors while flying in a Miles Hawk with Captain V. BUDGE. She finished eighth in the Governor-General’s air race in 1938 while piloting a Leopard Moth with Mr CALDERBANK as co-pilot. She finished second in the Round the Reef air competition that year, this time in a Gipsy II Moth. She was working for the Johannesburg Light Plane Club and preparing for her instructor’s rating by July 1937. On January 20, 1938, she earned her instructor’s rating, making history as South Africa’s first female instructor. She rejoined African Flying Services a few months later. Her wire-haired terrier, Starkey, had accumulated roughly 70 flight hours and was a regular sight at Grand Central. She had accumulated almost 2000 flight hours at the start of World War II.

Due to a principle that affected her employment, Lt-Col. Doreen DUNNING resigned on October 3. Major Muriel HORRELL took over her responsibilities. The major flew to Pretoria to meet with Prime Minister SMUTS when Lt-Col. DUNNING telegraphed her resignation to Maj. Marjorie EGERTON-BIRD, who was then based in Port Elizabeth. The Prime Minister apologised to Lt. Col. DUNNING in the media shortly afterward. Doreen served as the SAWAAA’s chairwoman.

Under the direction of the SAWAAF Sergeant-Major Mrs EDWARDS, all SAWAAFs completed a three-week basic training course at Valhalla. The Pretoria Technical College provided the SAWAAF technical staff with a one-year advanced training program, while Wonderboom’s 73 Air School served as the site of additional instruction. On June 28, 1940, the first 120 women enlisted in full-time service. After five months, 800 SAWAAFs demonstrated their willingness to serve overseas by proudly donning the orange flash. In August 1941, the Military College graduated the first female physical training instructors. At Voortrekkerhoogte’s 100 Air School, women completed their non-commissioned officer (NCO) training. South Africa had 34 SAWAAF camps by June 1942.

As duty pilots and co-pilots in the SAAF shuttle service, SAWAAF pilots also performed communication and ferry flights. SAWAAFs were able to serve on combat duty thanks to special legislation, operating searchlights and directing guns against ack-ack positions.

Muriel HORRELL led the first SAWAAF detachment to the north in December 1940. After travelling by troopship to Mombasa, they took a train to Nairobi, where they set up camp in a grey stone structure. They soon outgrew this camp and relocated to another set of wooden cabins. After being deployed to the Middle East in September 1940, the SAWAAFs were billeted in a Cairo hotel. The women did seventy-five different kinds of work during the war. Among the women were metal workers, welders, woodworkers, fitters and turners, inspectors, instructors of armaments, clerks, cooks, dispatch riders, signalers, Link Trainer instructors, truck drivers, meteorological assistants and observers, photographic developers and printers, parachute packers, P.T. instructors, shorthand typists, and wireless operators.

In 1942, the SAWAAF underwent a significant restructuring. They combined their administrative responsibilities with the SAAF’s. Only a few senior officers remained in the SAWAAF directorate, which was responsible for directing the organisation’s policies and ensuring the general welfare and well-being of all SAWAAFs serving full-time.

Following the war, Maj. Marjorie EGERTON-BIRD was assigned to the Directorate of Demobilisation’s Women’s Dispersal Section. By the end of December 1945, women’s demobilisation was complete. Six hundred and twenty-six women passed through the dispersal camps in January 1946 alone. On April 1, 1947, the final SAWAAF camp closed.

To help women deal with the change from war to peace, assistance was given. Such assistance included financial aid for education and training, vocational counsellors helping women select training appropriate to their skills, full-time and part-time courses (nursing and shorthand typing were two of the most popular), and support for individuals who wanted to start their own businesses. All discharge benefits offered to men were also available to women who had served equally. Due to the lack of manufacturers in the nation, women who had worked as artisans during the war had a challenging time adjusting. Most of the women went back to their normal lives, although some joined the Women’s Auxiliary Defence Corps and served in the SAAF.

In 1947, the Defence Act was amended to permit women to voluntarily serve in the military, but only in non-combatant capacities, as of June 3, 1947. Then, on November 28, 1947, the Women’s Defence Corps (WDC) was founded. After a new government took office in 1948, F.C. ERASMUS, the Minister of Defence, requested a report on women in the Permanent Force. The SAAF had four officers and thirty other ranks in the WDC, based on the report’s figures. Women were prohibited from operating military vehicles in April 1949. The minister decided to stop hiring women for the WDC Permanent Force the following month. The military only retained female medical officers and nursing staff.

The Minister of Defence excluded women from the Armed Forces until October 1972, when he authorised their re-appointment to the Permanent Force. The Civil Defence College in George provided training for the first three women to enlist in the SAAF as Permanent Force members in 1974. Thirty-three women started their basic training at the Air Defence School in Waterkloof on January 19, 1974. To commemorate 21 years of service by women in the Permanent Force, the SAAF staged an all-female parade on February 21, 1995, at the Air Force Gymnasium in Valhalla. In 1996, the first six women were recruited by the SAAF to train as pilots. As of October 2004, the SAAF was still operating with 13 of the 15 women who had received wings.

Note: This article was originally written in September 2008.