caption serviceyears laterwork branch commands death_place death_date birth_place allegiance awards battles birth_date alt nickname rank image article_title name
group officer clare stevenson , raaf headquarters , 1944 1941 -- 46 executive , berlei founder president , carers nsw royal australian air force waaaf -lrb- 1941 -- 46 -rrb- sydney , new south wales 22 october 1988 wangaratta , victoria australia member order of the british empire of the order of australia member of the world war ii 18 july 1903 dark-haired desk woman in light-coloured military uniform sitting behind a `` steve '' group officer 260px clare stevenson
 clare grant stevenson
clare stevenson

clare grant stevenson , am , mbe -lrb- 18 july 1903 -- 22 october 1988 -rrb- was the inaugural director of the women 's auxiliary australian air force -lrb- waaaf -rrb- .
as such , she has been described as `` the most significant woman in the history of the air force '' .
formed as a branch of the royal australian air force -lrb- raaf -rrb- in 1941 , the waaaf was the first and largest uniformed women 's service in australia during world war ii , numbering more than 18,000 members by late 1944 and making up over thirty per cent of raaf ground staff .
born and educated in victoria , stevenson was an executive with the berlei company when she was appointed director waaaf .
initially ranked squadron officer , she rose to become group officer by 1942 .
stevenson resumed her civilian career following her discharge from the air force in 1946 .
long active in education and social welfare , she helped form aid organisations including the carers association of new south wales -lrb- now carers nsw -rrb- after retiring from berlei in 1960 .
stevenson was appointed a member of the order of the british empire and a member of the order of australia for her services to the community and to female veterans .
