WOMEN'S NATIONAL EMERGENCY LEGION (WNEL)
IN AUSTRALIA DURING WW2

visits since 16 June 2002

A branch of the Women's National Emergency Legion was formed in The Redlands area during World War 2. Mrs. Em Fountain was the Commanding Officer. They met in the local RSL Hall. They would hold route marches, make bandages and sell bandages, etc.

Members of the WNEL performed the role of Mine-watchers in small posts along the banks of the Brisbane River near the mouth of the river. They worked under the control of the Royal Australian Navy. Many of their posts were in the back yards of houses along the river bank. Some were fairly substantial with concrete walls and sandbagging.

The posts were located on each side of the river so that each position could be seen by the next in line and they would signal with lights using Morse code. Daphne Smoothy Breckenridge was one of the WNELs who operated one of these Minewatching posts in about 1941-1942.

The Mine-watchers wore a Mine-watchers emblem on their arm. They wore an arm band which was a dark navy blue with an anchor and the word "Minewatcher" printed in red.

When the Americans arrived in Brisbane in large numbers, WNELs were attached to the US armed forces as drivers of staff and courier cars to drive US officers to and from the various campsites and warehouse installations and headquarters in the city.

The Brisbane headquarters for the Women's National Emergency League was located in the YMCA Building in Adelaide Street.

WNEL provided drivers and mechanical workers for the United States armed forces in the Cairns area during WW2. They were attached to Motor Pool Section 1, Base Section 2.  WNEL Sgt Clare Higgins was the Quartermaster for the Motor Pool.

Corporal J. Hood was a WNEL who worked in the office in Cairns. Some of the WNEL drivers in the Cairns area were D. Horne, Cpl N. Phelan, E. Newman, M. Higgins, N. Erskine, D. Dupain, T. Lawson, S. Midgley and H. Armstrong. Among the WNEL mechanics were E. Bolam, Mabel Carrick, V. Aldridge and Joyce Nixon. Joyce Sinclair was the only WNEL Ambulance Driver in the Cairns area for the US Army. Dott Lee, Alwyn Davis and Mrs T. Edwards were petrol bowser attendants for the US Army.

Lieutenant A.H. Lane was the US Army Transportation Officer and Captain Johnston was the Base Adjutant where the WNEL's worked in Cairns.

Queensland State Library Image Number: 195118

Woman in the uniform of the Australian Womens
National Emergency Legion September 1939

Mary Spence, a WNEL based in Townsville

Heaps of WW2 books available at Amazon.com

"Australia @ War"

This page first produced 16 June 2002

This page last updated 09 July 2007