Portal:Military history of Australia/Selected biography/13

Clare Grant Stevenson, AM, MBE (18 July 1903 – 22 October 1988) was the inaugural Director of the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF). Formed as a branch of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in March 1941, the WAAAF was the first and largest Australian uniformed women's service during World War II, numbering more than 18,000 members by late 1944 and making up over thirty per cent of the RAAF's ground staff. Initially ranked squadron officer when appointed in May 1941, she rose to become group officer by April 1942. After her discharge in 1946, Stevenson resumed her civilian career at Berlei and was active in adult education and social welfare, helping to form several aid organisations including the Carers Association of New South Wales after retiring from her business career in 1960. In 2001, she was described as "the most significant woman in the history of the Air Force".