I refer to your memorandum dated 3 July, 1950, seeking advice as to whether—

(a)  Women may become members of the Permanent Air Force—

(i)  in time of war;

(ii)  in time of peace;

(b)  women may become members of the Citizen Air Force—

(i)  in time of war;

(ii)  in time of peace;

(c)  it would have been competent to enlist persons in the Citizen Air Force during the recent war.

(2)  In my view, an affirmative answer should be given to each of these questions.

(3)  In view of your detailed exposition of the relevant Regulations—with which I agree—I think it unnecessary for me to set out my reasons at length. I propose to refer only to two or three aspects in supplementation of what has already been stated.

(4)  In his memorandum of 29 May, 1942, to the Assistant Secretary of the Department of the Treasury (Defence Division), the then Secretary of this Department expressed concurrence in the view advanced by Army that there was no provision in the Defence Act 1903–1941, express or implied, which prohibited females from being members of the Defence Force.¹ This opinion was acted on throughout the remainder of the war, and the amendments to the Defence Act in the intervening period have not, in my opinion, altered the position in that regard. Accordingly, I have treated as completely settled, and not requiring further consideration, the basic question of the eligibility of women to enlist in the Defence Force, and thus have regarded your memorandum under reply as involving only secondary questions as to the components of the Defence Force in which women may enlist.

(5)  The answers to your enquiries, then, depend exclusively upon the provisions of the Air Force Regulations. As already mentioned, you have set out these Regulations in detail and, on the view set out in paragraph 4, I do not think that there is anything in them which would prevent women from enlisting either in the Permanent or in the Citizen Air Force, and whether in peace or in time of war.

(6)  You invite attention to regulation 443 which apparently was not referred to in earlier correspondence in connexion with the constitution of the Women’s Service. Having regard to the provisions of this regulation, it seems quite clear that it would have been competent to enlist persons in the Citizen Air Force during the war. As the Citizen Air Force was called out to war service by Proclamation, any person enlisting thereafter in that Force would have been liable to render the war service for which the Force was called out. If the Citizen Air Force had not been called out for war service, a member thereof could, under regulation 443, have volunteered for war service, but, in the absence of the Proclamation and in view of the definition of ‘war service’ as including any Air Force service in time of war, he would, it appears, have become liable to render only service of the description he undertook to render and for which he was accepted.

[Vol. 39, p. 282]

¹ Opinion No. 1701.