The Australian Women's Register

In 1939, aged sixteen, Patricia Rawlings joined the British Auxiliary Territorial Service. Later, as a Warrant Officer, she was sent to the Middle East to become part of the first all-female Unit on active service in the Western Desert. [1]

In July 1951 Rawlings joined the Women’s Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) and was the chief instructor for the first Recruit Training Course held at Studley Park. Over the course of her 23 years with the WRAAC she rose from the rank of Warrant Officer to that of Major.

Following the visit to Australia by the colonel-in-chief of the WRAAC, HRH The Princess Margaret, Patricia Rawlings and a group of ex-WRAAC pursued the idea of forming an ex-WRAAC Association. Since then Rawlings has held executive positions in both state and national groups, and is the current patron of the WRAAC Association of Australia.

For her services to softball Patricia Rawlings was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia on 26 January 1991 and the Australian Sports Medal on 13 September 2000.

[1] Colonel Best and Her Soldiers by Lorna Ollif p. 7