Virtual
War Memorial
Australia

Mary Stewart Douglas OBE OAM

Originally posted as a home page article on 13 August 2021

Few people boast a military career as profound or diverse as Mary Stewart Douglas. Achieving the rank of Lieutenant Colonel, Mary, or May as she preferred to be called, was the highest ranked woman in the Australian military during the Second World War.[i] Today we commemorate 80 years since the formation of the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) by remembering the life of their Assistant Controller Mary Douglas.[ii]

Mary was born on 20 January 1904.[iii] She was the eldest of six children and daughter of Doctor Frank Douglas.[iv] Her father was the first medical practitioner in the Victor Harbor district, and also the founder of the Southern Electricity Company, credited with installing the first telephone system in Victor Harbor.[v] She was a gifted sportswoman, partaking in tennis and golf, and riding at the local pony club.[vi] Sport was a passion that Mary never lost; she continued to play golf at the Royal Adelaide Golf Club into her eighties, and was three times crowned South Australia Country Women’s Golf Champion. Mary was also a born leader, establishing the first Girl Guide unit at Victor Harbor at the age of 19.[vii] She was appointed the District Commissioner in 1926, and in 1933 became the Commissioner for the whole of South Australia.[viii] In 1958, she was appointed a life member of the South Australian Council of Girl Guides.[ix]

By 1941, the Australian Army was facing a shortage of men capable of service. It was decided that women, previously barred from enlistment aside from in a medical capacity, would be allowed to enlist under the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) in order “to release men from certain military duties for service with fighting units”.[x] The War Cabinet approved the formation of the AWAS on 13 August 1941.[xi] Mary was appointed as one of the inaugural 29 AWAS Officers, and began her training at the Officer’s Training School in Victoria over the course of November and December 1941.[xii] She was 41-years-old at this time, just managing to fit within the 18-45 age requirement of the AWAS. Only women who had “proved themselves as leaders in their own trade or profession or in some form of community service” were considered for officer roles. No doubt Mary’s impressive Girl Guide resume played a large part in her earning the position. An expectation of “enthusiasm and confidence”, “balance and dependability” and “tact and patience” were also crucial criteria in the appointment of officers.[xiii] During the course of Officer’s Training School, Japan entered the war, further heightening the importance of the AWAS. At the conclusion of her training, Mary was appointed as Controller of South Australian AWAS contingent.[xiv]

The initial stage of recruiting in October 1941 saw 1,600 women enlist in the AWAS. That number had ballooned to 6,000 by January 1942.[xv] The original vision was for AWAS women to be employed in non-combatant roles such as clerks, cooks, typists and motor car drivers,[xvi] however by 1942, women were taking up duties outside of Headquarters and Base Installations.[xvii] Fixed Defences in Hobart, Cairns and Perth were manned by a total of 3,618 women throughout the war, while over 3,600 served as part of the Australian Corps of Signals.[xviii] Mary’s role as an officer saw her remain attached to the South Australian AWAS Barracks during her service.[xix]

Mary transferred from the AWAS to the newly established Australian Army Medical Women’s Service (AAMWS) in December 1942,[xx] but the AWAS continued to grow in her absence. AWAS women served in the Intelligence Corps and Ordnance Corps,[xxi] were sent to Far North Queensland to assist in chemical weapon development, and even served in Headquarters
in New Guinea.[xxii] At the completion of the war, 24,026 women had enlisted in the Service.[xxiii]

Mary’s new service, the AAMWS, grew from the volunteer detachments of the Red Cross and St John Ambulance. Nearly 8,500 women served within its ranks, tending to the sick and wounded in the Middle East, New Guinea, and Australia.[xxiv] Mary was appointed Controller of the AAMWS on 16 January 1943.[xxv] Her time leading the AAMWS saw her leave South Australia to venture interstate and overseas, serving in Cairns, Melbourne, Lae, Morotai, Rabaul and Townsville throughout 1944 and 1945.[xxvi] At each posting, Mary was attached to a new hospital, serving alongside nurses of the Australian Army Nursing Service.

On 9 July 1943, Mary was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel,[xxvii] the first and only Australian woman to achieve this rank in World War II. She was also made an Honorary Colonel of the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps,[xxviii] making her the only woman to have served across all Army Women’s Services.[xxix]

Mary’s time in the armed services concluded on 21 June 1946 when the AAWMS was disbanded.[xxx] After the war, she was awarded the Pacific Star, the War Medal and the Australian Service Medal,[xxxi] and on 1 June 1953, became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire.[xxxii] She co-founded the Ex-Service Women’s Club in Adelaide,[xxxiii] and in 1997, was awarded an Order of Australia medal for her work with veterans.[xxxiv] Mary continued in her role as Girl Guides State Commissioner until 1958.[xxxv] She also found time to author her father’s biography, titled Counsellor, Guide and Friend.[xxxvi]

Mary May Stewart Douglas died on 6 May 1999 at the age of 96.[xxxvii] Such was her dedication to the associations she was involved in, her dying wish was that, in lieu of flowers at her funeral, donations be made to Girl Guides, Legacy or the Helping Hands Centre.[xxxviii] Mary was “loved and respected by all who knew her”.[xxxix] The passion and determination she showed towards women’s causes was inspirational.

Source List

[i] Australian War Memorial, 2021. Portrait of SFX30364 Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Mary Stewart (May) Douglas, Controller, .... [online] Awm.gov.au. Available at: <https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C299140> [Accessed 2 August 2021].
[ii] https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+55919
[iii] Vwma.org.au. 2021. Mary Stewart DOUGLAS. [online] Available at: <https://vwma.org.au/explore/people/579647> [Accessed 2 August 2021].
[iv] Victor Harbour Times, 1999. SA farewells 'national treasure'. p.7.
[v] Ibid.
[vi] Ibid.
[vii] Ibid.
[viii] Ibid.
[ix] Womenaustralia.info. 2021. Douglas, Mary Stewart (May) - Woman - The Australian Women's Register. [online] Available at: <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0413b.htm> [Accessed 2 August 2021].
[x] Ibid.
[xi] Ibid.
[xii] Ibid.
[xiii] Ibid.
[xiv] Victor Harbour Times, 1999. SA farewells 'national treasure'. p.7.
[xv] Womenaustralia.info. 2021. Douglas, Mary Stewart (May) - Woman - The Australian Women's Register. [online] Available at: <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0413b.htm> [Accessed 2 August 2021].
[xvi] Ibid.
[xvii] Ibid.
[xviii] Ibid.
[xix] National Archives Australia, Service Record SFX30364, Series Number B883.
[xx] Ibid.
[xxi] Womenaustralia.info. 2021. Douglas, Mary Stewart (May) - Woman - The Australian Women's Register. [online] Available at: <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0413b.htm> [Accessed 2 August 2021].
[xxii] Womenaustralia.info. 2021. Douglas, Mary Stewart (May) - Woman - The Australian Women's Register. [online] Available at: <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0413b.htm> [Accessed 2 August 2021].
[xxiii] Ibid.
[xxiv] Australian War Memorial, 2021. Women's Army services | Australian War Memorial. [online] Awm.gov.au. Available at: <https://www.awm.gov.au/learn/understanding-military-structure/army/womens-services> [Accessed 2 August 2021].
[xxv] National Archives Australia, Service Record SFX30364, Series Number B883.
[xxvi] Ibid.
[xxvii] Ibid.
[xxviii] Victor Harbour Times, 1999. SA farewells 'national treasure'. p.7.
[xxix] Ibid.
[xxx] National Archives Australia, Service Record SFX30364, Series Number B883.
[xxxi] Ibid.
[xxxii] Womenaustralia.info. 2021. Douglas, Mary Stewart (May) - Woman - The Australian Women's Register. [online] Available at: <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0413b.htm> [Accessed 2 August 2021].m
[xxxiii] Victor Harbour Times, 1999. SA farewells 'national treasure'. p.7.
[xxxiv] Ibid.
[xxxv]  State Library of South Australia. 2021. Lieutenant Colonel Mary Stewart Douglas. [online] Available at: <https://collections.slsa.sa.gov.au/resource/B+55919> [Accessed 2 August 2021].
[xxxvi] Victor Harbour Times, 1999. SA farewells 'national treasure'. p.7.
[xxxvii] Womenaustralia.info. 2021. Douglas, Mary Stewart (May) - Woman - The Australian Women's Register. [online] Available at: <https://www.womenaustralia.info/biogs/AWE0413b.htm> [Accessed 2 August 2021].m
[xxxviii] Victor Harbour Times, 1999. SA farewells 'national treasure'. p.7.
[xxxix] Ibid.