Changing Altitudes: Stories of Australian Air Force Women
A new publication by History and Heritage Air Force
In the early years of the Second World War, Australian women began lobbying to contribute to the nation’s wartime effort. From 1940, women were signing up to serve in the Royal Australian Air Force Nursing Service and, in 1941, an auxiliary arm of the Royal Australian Air Force was established, allowing women to join on a temporary basis to enhance the organisation’s ability to fight.
In the decades since, Australian women have continued to contribute significantly to the operational capability of the world’s second-oldest air force. They have done so regardless of the social norms of the time, or the perceived limitations of their abilities, always showing their detractors they are capable of great things.
Changing Altitudes: Stories of Australian Air Force Women includes the personal stories of some of these women, recounting, in their own words, their experiences while proudly wearing the uniform of the RAAF.
This volume of oral histories aims to capture the one capability the RAAF cannot operate without: its people.
Read a sample of this volume of Changing Altitudes
Available for purchase from major bookstores and as an eBook
About the book
Changing Altitudes: Stories of Australian Air Force Women captures the unique experiences of women from all backgrounds who joined the Air Force for many reasons, including to serve their nation, to follow in the footsteps of a loved one, to seek a life outside of a small country town, or to pursue adventure. It is merely a snapshot of the stories of thousands of women who have dedicated themselves to the profession of arms. As a result, the book pays homage to all women who have served over the decades.
The story of each woman has been developed using interviews and transcripts and is therefore a recollection ‘in her own words’, while significant research into each decade of service and relevant vignettes provide context around the social and political landscape of the time.
The bookis divided into decades dating from the 1940s to the present day and includes informative vignettes on topics including:
- Second World War recruitment language and imagery
- The Vietnam War: the silent contributors
- Society’s attitudes and national policies: the impact on women in the Air Force
- The evolution of women’s uniforms
- Air Force women killed in service
- Australian female fast-jet pilots
- Sport and service
Dame Quentin Bryce, AD CVO, is the patron of Changing Altitudes: Stories of Australian Air Force Women and wrote the book’s foreword.
The contributors of Changing Altitudes: Stories of Australian Air Force Women are:
- AIRCDRE Kirrily Dearing: team lead and writer
- SQNLDR Anna Williams: writer
- FLTLT Karyn Markwell: editor and writer
- FLTLT Fiona Earl: writer
- Ms Rosalind Turner: historian
Contributor biographies
Air Commodore Kirrily Dearing, AM
Kirrily Dearing joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a supply officer (now logistics) through the Australian Defence Force Academy in 1988. Throughout her 34 years of permanent service, Kirrily served at Air Force and joint Defence establishments throughout eastern Australia in both logistics and other roles. She spent three years in Hawaii from 2014 to 2016 as the inaugural liaison officer to the US Pacific Air Forces. She deployed on numerous operational tasks overseas, including to Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and the Middle East, including a deployment to Afghanistan. Kirrily retired from full-time service in March 2022, and now enjoys working on select Reserve opportunities and other work and hobby interests
Squadron Leader Anna Williams, PhD
Anna Williams is a museum curator, educator and social historian. She holds a Master of Arts – Museum Studies and a Doctorate of Philosophy from The University of Sydney. Her multidisciplinary thesis, awarded in 2022, sought to understand the disparities between the artefactual, archival, and written histories of Air Force training in Australia during the Second World War. Anna was appointed as a squadron leader (specialist capability officer) in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in December 2021. She currently works as a curator for the Royal Australian Navy and holds a reserve position with History and Heritage – Air Force. As an extracurricular activity, Anna enjoys singing for and with military veterans, transporting them to yesteryear with the sweet harmonies of the Second World War-era and beyond with her band Company B. She has a son with whom she shares her love of music, a pet rabbit called George, skiing and weekends kayaking on Sydney Harbour.
Flight Lieutenant Karyn Markwell, MA MIntell
Karyn Markwell holds a Master of Publishing from The University of Queensland and a Master of Intelligence from Macquarie University. She joined the RAAF as a reservist in 2015 and has deployed on tasks and exercises to every state and territory of Australia (except Tasmania – but she lives in hope). A lifelong lover of history, she joined History and Heritage – Air Force in 2022. Her other passions include travelling, reading and cheesemaking, with triple-cream brie her specialty.
Flight Lieutenant Fiona Earl, PhD
Fiona Earl joined the RAAF Reserves in May 2022, the same year she was awarded her PhD in aviation heritage. Fiona has long enjoyed researching and writing about aviation heritage, especially in Australia’s Northern Territory. In 2018, she contributed the first definition of ‘aviation archaeology’ to the Encyclopaedia of Global Archaeology. Her role as a specialist capability officer in History and Heritage – Air Force provides her with a brilliant opportunity to combine her passions for aviation and heritage. Fiona’s interest in aviation extends beyond her work and she enjoys flying ultralight aircraft.
Ms Rosalind Turner, BHIP
Rosalind (Roz) Turner holds a Bachelor of Historical Inquiry and Practice from the University of New England. She also holds a Certificate IV in Museum Practice and a Diploma of Professional Writing (Editing and Proofreading). She joined Defence as an Australian Public Service trainee in 1989 and worked through various administrative positions before joining the Office of Air Force History in 2005. Having always had an interest in history, she was finally able to pursue her dream and in 2018 became the Deputy Air Force Historian. Roz was project lead on the publication Then, Now, Always, produced for the Air Force’s Centenary in 2021. She finds leading others in their pursuit of historical research a very rewarding career and became the Executive Officer Historical Research and Reviews for History and Heritage – Air Force in 2023.