ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the living quarters and conditions of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) to explain how and why they became such a defining feature of the corps. It starts by investigating the ideological significance of women's military accommodation to uncover the role which WAAC housing played in integrating the first female corps into the masculine world of the army. It then discusses how the lodgings of the WAAC fulfilled this role. It examines the changing physical and discursive construction of these dwellings as well as their officially sanctioned furnishings and regulations. It also explores the gendered values that the main architects of WAAC housing sought to promote through this accommodation and how these ideals were embodied and reflected in the design, fittings and use of the lodgings. The regulations of WAAC quarters and daily life were designed to inculcate the auxiliaries with the qualities of martial femininity. Finally the chapter discusses the experience of inhabiting these lodgings.
