Worrals in Flying kit from the Girls Own Paper 1943
FLIGHT OFFICER JOAN WORRALSON is little known these days - I came across her in a car boot sale, the title on the spine of the book shouting at me - "Worrals of the WAAF" by Capt. W.E. Johns. My hand shot out and unflinchingly grabbed the rather damp and tattered book from the mouldy pile.
I HAD HEARD of Flight Lieutenant Bigglesworth - known as Biggles - and knew that he was a fictional ace wartime pilot, surviving many exciting and daring do adventures in the air and on the ground, - but who was Worrals ?
MUCH LATER I found a nearly full set of Worrals books in another second hand bookshop; cruising the net came up with only a few hits, pristine editions of the books go for £20 - £30 in the web bookmarts ! So, who was Worrals ? What did she do ? How relevant is she today ?
WORRALS MADE HER DEBUT in the Girls Own Paper at the beginning of the Second World War in 1939, possibly as propaganda to entice young women to join the services. The Women's Auxiliary Airforce (WAAF) was the then women's branch of the Royal Air Force; the Women's Royal Airforce (WRAF) was in fact constituted after the war. Picture left: Worrals and Frecks have a plan to enter the Chateau
AUTHOR Capt. W.E. Johns, had served as a pilot in WW1, later turning his hand to writing books for older children. Instantly popular the GOP stories became a book and then books - 11 in all. Worrals survived the war and went into civvy street, her last adventure Worrals Investigates was published in 1950.
LEAVING THE WAAF as a Squadron Officer she becomes......a Private Investigator !
WORRALS IS a great girl. At eighteen when the books begin in 1940
she already has her Pilots Wings , and does in fact fly aeroplanes. Granted she mostly ferries them about from one airfield to another and to her great chagrin is not allowed to fly in action - but when spotting an enemy plane she will not hesitate to shoot him down ! Picture right: Worrals, Frecks and the bear.
SHE CAN FLY Tiger Moths, Reliants, Merton Midgets, the Ranger Sea Plane. She can parachute out of an aircraft, drive a car at speed, an HGV lorry and a motorbike. She can swim, she can shoot straight. Fluent in French and German her nerve is icy cool, she has a deep feeling for duty and fair play. She is immaculately British. Shoot her enemy she will - but never in the back !
WORRALS is cool. Blown off course and landing in France only Worrals will sling her mac' over her uniform and marching into an estaminet openly enquire directions ! Worrals is brave. Faced with a fearsome wounded bear she falters not. Faint - never ! The Only time Worrals is heard to scream is to distract a nearby member of the Gestapo from discovering a sabotaged recording device . Worrals is quick witted and intelligent - she always has A Clever Plan ! Picture left: Worrals and Frecks descend into a cellar to hide form the Gestapo
BUT THIS SUPREME ability can also be Worrals' Achilles heel; the bold plans often come to grief because of her rather unfortunate reliance on what ought to happen rather than what actually does.......Worrals regularly has to be rescued by - "Frecks !"
SECTION OFFICER BETTY LOVELL, known as "Frecks", is Worrals' friend and companion. At school together (Worrals was Head of the School of course !) Frecks is in fact a few months younger than Worrals, also a qualified pilot. She is less stern than Worrals, more feminine, a worrier rather than a doer. She has a penchant for the pictures, tennis and chocolate which arouses Worrals' active disdain. Frecks is frightened of the dark , yet, withal, she is there when she is needed and can fight her corner savagely when required, perhaps even with less regard for fair play then her friend !
BETWEEN THEM they make an unstoppable team in the fight against
the Nazis. Unable because of their sex to fly Spitfires in the Battle of Britain they are drawn into the secret cloak and dagger world of the Fifth Column in England and Undercover sabotage across the channel. They fly on secret missions to France, camp out with the French Resistance, brush with and outwit the might of the German Army and avoid the villainy of the evil Gestapo ! They go East to Syria, and before the War ends - get into a narrow scrape with Japanese on a Pacific island. Picture right; Worrals comes across a native on the shores of the Island
WHEN THE WAR IS OVER the intrepid duo are offered further investigative work by Air Commodore Raymond (ret.) Now an Assistant Commissioner at Scotland Yard, and the adventures continue with flying trips to investigate skullduggery in Africa, Canada and Australia !
WHAT THEN shall we make of Joan Worralson and Betty Lovell today ?
THERE IS A minor love interest between Worrals and one Flight Lieutenant Bill Ashton; he is "keen" on Worrals but she is not interested, she sees him only as a friend - to Frecks' clear relief. That women were not allowed to fly in combat will come as no surprise and indeed Worrals frequently has to struggle with not a few male senior officers who disregard her talents and openly abuse her abilities. (They are always proved wrong !)
YET SHE FLIES flies far and fast, often to dangerous places. It is impossible to believe that there were no qualified women pilots in the WAAF, certainly women flew regularly in the Air Transport Auxiliary.
Worrals and Frecks meet an Aussie villain
WHAT SPRINGS TO MIND with immediate clarity is the author'sdescription of the two young women...... ....not even her friends could call Worrals pretty, although her features were regular enough....she was dark, her hair brown and always tidy, her eyes the same colour, were steady and thoughtful except when softened by a flash of humour...could also gleam aggressively when things went wrong....a trifle too thin, of average height.......Betty Lovell was fair, casual and appeared to take nothing seriously.....she had no pretension to good looks....her straight flaxen hair was usually out of control and her blue eyes laughed at those who advised lemon juice for her freckles.....
Remind you of another more modern couple ? The dark "Hero" and the blonde "Heroine ?" Worrals the Warrior Princess ?Woralls/Xena as hero and Frecks/Gabrielle as heroine are with us today.....
WORRALS BOOKS
Worrals of the WAAF Worrals Carries On Worrals Flies Again Worrals on the Warpath Worrals Goes East Worrals of the Islands Worrals in the Wilds Worrals Down Under Worrals Goes Afoot Worrals in the Wastelands Worrals Investigates
All first published between 1940 and 1950. None are in print now but can still be tracked down at specialist book shops on the Web.
Thanks to the original artists, wherever you are, who produced these images. No infringement of copyright is intended. And thanks to James Mackenzie and the other Worrals fans from Australia.
From Old Dyke 8, January 2001
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