The RCAF Women's Division started 1942 as a means of having women do more support work in the air force, freeing up more men for combat flight duty. At first women only served in Canada and the United States, but then their service spread to Britain and eventually Western Europe . Women in the RCAF WD worked as Headquarters secretaries and clerks, in the canteen, as drivers, mechanics, classroom instructors. A very few even served in the Air Transport Auxiliary, flying aircraft from manufacturers to air bases in Britain. In all, over 17,000 Canadian women served in the wartime air force - none however, in any combat role.