Margaret Selina Caswell, Women's Legion, 1916

Photograph postcard, World War One (1914-1918), 1916.

The Women's Legion was formed in August 1915 to provide cooks, waitresses and gardeners to the Army. Caswell (1896-1918) later transferred to the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC), enlisting at Tidworth in 1917. The WAAC had been formed that year to free up valuable and experienced soldiers from the rear areas for front line service. Women were employed in a variety of jobs. As well as cooking and waiting on officers, they served as clerks, telephone operators, store-women, drivers, printers, bakers and cemetery gardeners.

Given the rank of worker, Margaret was sent to France where she worked as a waitress at an officers club' at Abbeville camp. During the night of 29-30 May 1918 German aircraft attacked QMAAC Camp 1 at Abbeville and one of their bombs fell into a protection trench killing 22-year-old Caswell and eight of her colleagues and wounding a further seven.