Mildred Green as Doctor and Squadron Leader, interviewed by Joyce Thompson.

Dr Mildred Margaret Green (nee Hutchings) [SERN 253230] as a squadron leader Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force, 1941-1945.
She was the first woman to be appointed a medical officer in the RAAF, which she joined on 22 September 1941 under her maiden name Mildred Margaret Hutchings, having completed her MBBS at Melbourne University. Both her mother and father and her maternal grandfather were all medical practitioners. She was educated at Laureston Girls’ School and Geelong Girls’ Grammar School (GGGS) for the last four years, graduating from Melbourne University 1934.

She was one of ten females in a year of 120 students, of whom only 48 finished the course of six straight years. Generally speaking, the girls were treated the same as the boys and apart from one hospital were free to have hospital jobs the same as the men. The women had been too demanding about their living conditions, so the hospital would not employ them. At the Melbourne Hospital the women doctors were treated equally, although in 1909, when Mildred’s mother graduated top of the year, a man was made senior to her on the hospital staff. The women were scattered throughout the course but all felt that they had opportunities on graduation. Nevertheless, the Victorian Medical Women’s Society was vigilant about advertisements asking for a man.

She spent a year at the Royal Melbourne Hospital after graduation and two years at the Children’s Hospital. During the latter time she became very interested in preventative medicine and the importance of a healthy life style. Plans to visit England in 1938 ¬– a European visit was considered an extension of education and England was still referred to as home –¬¬ were thwarted by Hitler’s invasion of Austria. She had given up her clinics so she went up to the Riverina to visit another branch of the family, where she learned to fly a Tussel Moth. On returning to Melbourne she continued flying lessons at Essendon, where she was helping at a general practice, and obtained her passenger ticket.

In 1941, she was a locum in charge of the orthopaedic section of the Children’s Hospital at Frankston from where she attended neurological clinics at Alfred Hospital. Here, she met Dr Leonard Cox who attended RAAF medical boards; he told her that the RAAF were considering employing a woman doctor because they had been enlisting WAAAFs since March 1941. The Director General of Medical Services, AVM Hurley insisted that she was appointed and employed under the same conditions as other doctors as there was no precedent to employ her otherwise. She was employed as a flight lieutenant. Only medical women were employed with full status. Her uniform was settled on as a WAAAF officer’s uniform with a modified RAAF cap. Freda Thompson was the only other female pilot that she met at Wagga Wagga

She was impressed with the medical examination that she received at the Melbourne recruit depot. She was examined by Squadron Leader Lemmon who was a gynaecologist in peace time. They discussed many of the female aspects of the examination on that first day and she felt that the recruit centre’s attitude to examining women was constructive.
She enlisted on 22 September 1941and was posted to No. 1 WAAAF Depot Mayfield Avenue, Malvern to take medical care of the depot and to give three lectures to each recruit course. The depot was training 90 recruits a month – wireless telegraphists, cooks and domestic staff. Pearl Harbor in December 1941 increased demand and the WAAAF Depot transferred to Geelong Grammar School for January 1942 and trained 462 recruits. The lack of protective clothing – particularly hats – did not prevent recruits being drilled in blazing sun. Recruits came from all backgrounds and were posted to a variety of tasks. The lack of equipment and uniforms and the stations to which they were posted being neither ready to house nor to employ them did not stop their departure. No.1 WAAAF Depot was moved to St Katherine’s School, Hayington where Sick Quarters were over the road at Warrendeen, an old house. Privacy was secured by painted the windows with a strong Epsom salts solution, which crystallised when dry. Establishing No.2 WAAAF Depot at Robertson NSW in February 1942. The site was unsuitable and the unit was later transferred to Bradfield Park. She returned to No.1 WAAAF Depot. The WAAAF Depot extension at West Melbourne was Spartan and dirty because of a nearby incinerator. Nevertheless, morale was very high and the officers’ mess became known for its invisible mascot, Umbrage. The unit was used for training wireless telegraphists (WTs) training at the Marconi School and cooks training at the William Anglis School. SqnLdr Green gave three lectures to recruits, including one on sex. A biannual sex lecture was standard for RAAF members and this was extended to the WAAAF. Female servicewomen found it easier to talk about sex to female doctors. Contraception was not a major topic; continence was common. Venereal disease was covered. The pregnancy rate was lower than the civilian rate and could have been even lower had contraception been covered more widely but there had been no coverage of the subject during SqnLdr Green’s medical course. WAAAF members were far more likely to discuss period problems with a female doctor than a male.
Claire Stephenson was far ahead of her time in having the low percentage of women who contracted VD looked after. The health of the WAAAFs at No.1 WAAAF Depot was fairly good. There was some fatigue because of long hours and shift work but Nell Arnold kept her ears and eyes open to keep the officers informed. The officers at No. 1 WAAAF Depot were a good team. Flight Officer Rawlins, who was a strict disciplinarian took over as CO. Everyone got on with their own work and it was a happy unit.
SqnLdr Green was posted to the Directorate of Medical Services under the Director of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to advise DGMS and D WAAAF on WAAAF medical policy. She inspected conditions where WAAAF were serving and delivered hygiene and sex lectures. The Director was WgCdr Alec Baldwin and there was also a flight lieutenant and an entomologist. She was asked to report on workshop conditions, such matters as poor lighting at the maintenance unit at Kalgoorlie and the lack of proper ventilation whilst spraying paint and dope and tempering steel with cyanide, are examples. Mildred gave details of the teamwork and through whom any necessary action would be approved and taken, generally through the DGMS, in the first instance. She gave examples of her travels, which were mainly by train but occasionally by RAAF flights. She speaks about unsuitable shift work, particularly by signals staff. The final recommendation was to divide the twenty four hours into three shifts and to carry out six days of the same shift followed by two days off, alternating the three shifts. Prejudices from both management and staff meant that this shift system was little used. WAAAF overcrowding was a problem, particularly after Pearl Harbor. D WAAAF established a minimum of 600 (square) feet per person and WAAAFs slept head to foot to avoid passing germs. There were minimum standards for numbers of toilets and showers and Claire Stephenson insisted on hot water for the girls. Mildred talks about the development of lectures given to recruits and later to all
WAAAFs. Various aspects of hygiene played an important part in these. She talks about help received from the Royal Canadian Air Force including a film on sex education. She received help from physiotherapist Vera Carter in developing lectures on natural posture, amongst other things. Relationships between medical officers and WAAAF officers were generally good. Entry standards for recruits were dropped to height 4ft 9in; feet standards not known but were also dropped and gynaecological aspects relied on the girl’s history. Feet caused some problems because of drill requirements and their work needing a lot of standing. Until female drill instructors were trained, male drill instructors found it hard to accept that the ideal female posture differed from that of a man and future possible pregnancies needed this to be considered. Lifting heavy loads could be dangerous to a woman’s health if a wrong technique was used and lifting machinery was rarely available. Visiting Townsville showed the WAAAFs reacting to the hot climate by changing into a perfect outfit twice a day. With a fighter unit based there, there was a lot of shift work and during the day, you would find Salvation Army officer, Cappy, always around, making coffee or writing letters for the illiterate.
She caught dengue fever on the way home. The mosquitoes would breed in any stagnant water lying around in empty tins so camp hygiene was important. Worm infections were averted by people always wearing shoes but dengue was debilitating or a few weeks.
Morale was high in Townsville. People felt that they were contributing. With the fighter unit, they all felt that they were in it when the Battle of the Coral Sea was on. In Tasmania the mess fire was huge, to thaw out the instructors and trainees coming out of tiny training aircraft, frozen solid.
In Adelaide staff complained that the recruits were yawning and inattentive early in the morning. This was because their room was underground and they were not getting enough oxygen.
At Geraldton the WAAAF officer had the cook take her staff to task for their bad language, which she did ending up with “And I don’t want any more of this bloody swearing”.
She measured up the great houses in Toorak, which were used as WAAAF barracks. These were Tournack and Rathbarren in Irving Road; an old house, Orong and Wooragaleen. All were beautiful houses with lovely gardens and in great contrast to West Melbourne and tin huts around the country. Mildred was the promoted squadron leader in April 1943 and was the senior female doctor of 16 in the RAAF. Two were full-time pathologists, one was an eye specialist and the remainder were all concerned with D WAAAF. Her time in the RAAF was a valuable experience, not only in public health and preventative medicine but because of the first class people that she worked with in Directorate of Medical Services. Post war she married, and had a son and a daughter.
Places mentioned include : Euroa, Melbourne, Laureston, Geelong, England, Riverina, Wagga Wagga, Essendon, Frankston, No 1 WAAAF Depot, Malvern then moved to St Katherine’s School, Hayington, Pearl Harbor, Robertson NSW, Bradfield Park, the Marconi School (training WTs), William Anglis School (training cooks).
People mentioned include: Elsie Morish (principal, GGGS)
Dr Leonard Cox (neurologist)
AVM Hurley (Director General of Medical Services, RAAF)
Freda Thompson (Victorian Flying Club)
Dr Leonard Cox
SqnLdr Dr Lemmon
Walter Counsel (DMS Personnel)
Sgt Nell Arnold
FltOff Gwen Stark
Dr Joan Beatty
Claire Baldwin
WgCdr Dr Alec Baldwin (Director of Hygiene)
Miss Lang (Director of Nursing Services)
Claire Stephenson (D WAAAF)
Vera Carter (physiotherapist)
WgCdr Charles Hembrow (orthopaedist)