Sybil Irving - War Service

War Service

In September 1941, Irving accepted an offer from the Army's Adjutant-General, Major General Victor Stantke, to lead the newly-formed Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS). This appointment was mainly made on the basis of her family background and guiding experience, and Irving later acknowledged that she had "no qualifications at all" for the position. She was appointed Controller of the AWAS in October and immediately traveled around Australia to recruit officers. She was promoted to lieutenant colonel in January 1942, and successfully established a framework into which 24,000 female soldiers eventually enlisted.

Irving was based at the AWAS' headquarters in Melbourne throughout the war. One of her officers described her as "Impressive. She could be abrupt, decisive and self-assured in the public arena in a way women were not expected - or trained to be in those days, and this stood her in good stead". She used Guiding as the basis for the AWAS, and this practice drew both praise and criticism. She also supported the Australian Government's policy that members of the AWAS not operate weapons, arguing that "these girls will be the mothers of the children who will rebuild Australia. They must not have the death of another mother's son on their hands". Irving did not support the Government's restriction against servicewomen being deployed to operational areas in the South West Pacific Area, and succeeded in having this overturned in 1945.

Irving was promoted to colonel in February 1943, and had 20,000 women serving under her when the AWAS reached its peak strength in 1944. At the end of the war she encouraged AWAS members to undertake further training in order to find jobs in the civilian labour force, but only a small proportion of servicewomen did so. Irving left the Army in January 1947 when the AWAS was disbanded. She later wrote to all her former officers to inquire after their welfare and ask what they were doing in the post-war world.