The first women to drive ambulances at the Front were volunteers of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry - or FANYs Corp. They were almost all wealthy enough to fund the purchase of their own uniforms and ambulances, and at first they were rejected by the British army and instead served French and Belgian troops. By 1916, the FANYs won the right to serve the British Army and were joined by ambulance drivers from the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VADs) and the Women’s Auxiliary Army Corps (WAAC). These brave women endured dangerous conditions and hardships at the Front, and many stayed behind after the war to relocate prisoners of war and help to rebuild war-torn communities.
