Born: 9 October 1874, United Kingdom
Died: 5 September 1956
Country most active: United Kingdom
Also known as: Florence Way, Florence Leach
Bianca Taubert on the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps transcript
The following is excerpted from Infinite Women founder Allison Tyra’s book The View from the Hill: Women Who Made Their Mark After 40.
Florence Simpson, formerly Florence Leach, came to the WAAC having worked with the Women’s Legion, an Army-sanctioned women’s volunteer unit tasked with cooking for the troops. Formed in 1915, the women followed some forms of military procedure, such as dressing in uniforms. By the end of 1915, the 41-year-old Simpson had risen to Commandant of Cooks for the Legion and was hard at work establishing business-like practices. She used her first husband’s influence in the War Office to advocate for the Legion and try to convince those in power of the women’s ability to serve abroad. At the end of 1916, she traveled to France with the help of army and government officials to determine how women could best work with the military. When it was announced a few months later that women would be heading to the western front, Simpson was made Controller of Cooks before the WAAC was even officially instituted in July 1917. She brought with her 7,000 Women’s Legion cooks and became controller of recruiting. The following year, she took over as Chief Controller of the WAAC. In 1919, she was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE), becoming the first military dame. After retiring in 1920, she formed a veterans’ organization for the re-named Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps, the QMAAC Old Comrades Association.