Sybil Irving Sybil Howy Irving MBE ( 25 February 1897 – 28 March 1973 ) was the founder and controller of the Australian Women ' s Army Service during World War II . She served in this position from 1941 to 1946 and was active in charity and social organisations until she was aged 74 . Social work . Irving was born on 25 February 1897 at Victoria Barracks in Melbourne . She was the oldest of three children and her father , Godfrey Irving , was an Army officer who later held senior positions in the Australian Army . The family moved frequently as her father was posted to new positions , and she was educated at schools in most states . Irving worked in a number of social welfare positions after leaving school . During World War I she served in a Red Cross voluntary aid detachment in Australia . In 1924 she became secretary of the Girl Guides ' Association , Victoria , a position she held until 1940 . In 1935 , she was one of the two founders of the Victorian Society for Crippled Children ( and Adults ) and worked for this organisation until her death . She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire ( MBE ) on 2 January 1939 for her services to social welfare services in Victoria . Irving left the Girl Guides Association in 1940 to work as Assistant - Secretary of the Victorian Red Cross Society . War service . In September 1941 , Irving accepted an offer from the Army ' s Adjutant - General , Major General Victor Stantke , to lead the newly formed Australian Women ' s Army Service ( AWAS ) . This appointment was mainly made on the basis of her family background and guiding experience , and Irving later acknowledged that she had " no qualifications at all " for the position . She was appointed Controller of the AWAS in October and immediately traveled around Australia to recruit officers . She was promoted to lieutenant colonel in January 1942 , and successfully established a framework into which 24 , 000 female soldiers eventually enlisted . Irving was based at the AWAS ' headquarters in Melbourne throughout the war . One of her officers described her as " Impressive . She could be abrupt , decisive and self - assured in the public arena in a way women were not expected - or trained to be in those days , and this stood her in good stead " . She used Guiding as the basis for the AWAS , and this practice drew both praise and criticism . She also supported the Australian Government ' s policy that members of the AWAS not operate weapons , arguing that " these girls will be the mothers of the children who will rebuild Australia . They must not have the death of another mother ' s son on their hands " . Irving did not support the Government ' s restriction against servicewomen being deployed to operational areas in the South West Pacific Area , and succeeded in having this overturned in 1945 . Irving was promoted to colonel in February 1943 , and had 20 , 000 women serving under her when the AWAS reached its peak strength in 1944 . At the end of the war she encouraged AWAS members to undertake further training in order to find jobs in the civilian labour force , but only a small proportion of servicewomen did so . Irving left the Army in January 1947 when the AWAS was disbanded . She later wrote to all her former officers to inquire after their welfare and ask what they were doing in the post - war world . Later life . Irving returned to social work after completing her military service . In 1947 , she became general secretary of the Victorian Division of the Red Cross and held this position until 1959 . She was also appointed Honorary Colonel of the Women ' s Royal Australian Army Corps ( WRAAC ) when the Army re - formed its women ' s service in 1951 . In 1960 – 61 she took a 13 - month long holiday in Britain and Europe , during which time she resigned from the WRAAC in 1961 . After returning to Australia Irving worked as a consultant for the Victorian Old People ' s Welfare Council organising elderly citizens ' clubs until she retired in 1971 . She died on 28 March 1973 at her home in South Yarra and was buried with full military honours at Fawkner cemetery . Following her death Irving ' s friends and former colleagues raised funds for memorials to her in all of the Australian capital cities .