Welcome to the History Extra Podcast, fascinating historical conversations from BBC History Magazine and BBC History revealed.

Winston Churchill's famous speech of summer 1940 hailed the REF as the famous FU who protected the skies during the Battle of Britain.

But less is known about the work of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force who worked tirelessly behind the scenes under high pressure in order to ensure the success of Britain's Air Force.

Speaking to Emily Griffith, Dr Sarah Louise Miller, historian and author of The Women Behind the FU, delves into impactful roles played by the Waff during World War II, from courageous secret agents to the unfrappable women behind the damn Buster's raid.

Hi Sarah, thank you so so much for joining me today.

Thanks for having me. So we're going to be talking all about your new book, The Women Behind the FU. But who were the Waff? And when we talk about the Waff, who do we actually mean?

It's kind of one of those terms most people might not be familiar with actually. We know the REF, the Royal Air Force, everybody knows the REF, but the Waff less so.

They were actually created exactly the same time as the REF on the 1st of April 1918, the REF is born exactly the same time the Women's Royal Air Force is born in the First World War.

And it's quickly disbanded between the Wars, but then in the Second World War it's reborn as the Waff, the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.

And it's exactly what it sounds like. It's attached to the men, the kind of parent service, the REF, the men.

And they are there to kind of supply the Royal Air Force with people to help when there's clearly going to be a manpower crisis during wartime.

So we send the men away, the women fill in.

So where the Waff part of the Royal Air Force or not?

Their status was debated and sort of is that's a point most people want to fixate on. They're very much an auxiliary service.

Also I looked up the word auxiliary and it bothers me slightly because it means support.

And there's very much this idea that they are there to free a man for duty and that's their only value and that they can't have value beyond that, but they are actually full intense and purposes.

They are airwomen. I think there is that perception that women were almost the secretaries and the clerks to the daring pilot out in the field facing life and death.

But I'm guessing this is not going to be what we're talking about. This is not the case.

It's one of the reasons I wrote the book actually because of this massive misconception we've got.

Misunderstanding, call it what you want. And I think part of that was unintentional because we don't write books about clerks and secretaries.

And let's be honest if we did, would we read them? Because it comes off as boring, but it's definitely a misconception where the Waffer concerned.

They look like they're doing clerical work, but they're actually doing critically important work to keep the RAF where it needs to be at the right time.

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