Legasee Educational Trust is proud to announce that volunteer researcher Joan Turner has been published in the British Journal for Military History—marking a significant milestone for the charity and its ongoing work to preserve overlooked stories from Britain’s military past.
Turner’s article, “Gender, Duty and Change: An Oral History of the Women’s Royal Army Corps (1949-1992)” draws on a unique collection of filmed interviews with 30 women who served in the Women’s Royal Army Corps (WRAC), recorded as part of a National Lottery Heritage Fund supported project delivered by Legasee.
The WRAC, which existed from 1949 to 1992, played a vital role in the British Army, yet the lived experiences of the women who served have often been underrepresented in mainstream military history. Turner’s research brings these voices into academic focus, using first-hand testimony to explore the opportunities, limitations and legacy of the Corps.
Martin Bisiker, Founder of Legasee Educational Trust, said:
“Without over stating it, this is an important moment for us. It’s a first for Legasee, and a huge achievement for Joan. More than that, it shows what can happen when you properly record and preserve lived experience. These voices don’t just sit in an archive—they begin to shape understanding, research and ultimately history itself.”
The article highlights how oral history can challenge long-held assumptions about women’s roles in the military, offering a more nuanced and human perspective than traditional sources alone.
The interviews used in the research form part of Legasee’s growing digital archive, which is freely accessible to the public and widely used by schools, researchers and historians.
Bisiker added:
“We’re incredibly proud of Joan, and deeply grateful to the women who trusted us with their stories. Their experiences deserve to be heard, studied and understood.”
The WRAC project was made possible with funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, supporting Legasee’s mission to uncover and preserve lesser-known chapters of British history before they are lost.
