George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library, MS2FLAmanda Menjivar
Public Domain. There are no known restrictions.
Access is restricted due to physical fragility. A digital surrogate was created by Kelsey Kim in June 2023 and is available to view upon request.
Purchased by Lynn Eaton from Caroliniana Rare Books in July 2019.
Processing and finding aid completed by Amanda Menjivar in August 2023.
Yeomen (Female), also as written as "Yeomen (F)", was an enlisted rank in the United States military during World War I. Thanks to a language loophole in the Naval Act of 1916, women were allowed to officially enlist in the military for the first time. As a result, over 600 women enlisted from March - April 1917, reaching nearly 4000 by July 1919. The Yeomen, also called "Yeomenettes" mostly worked in clerical positions at Naval Yards across the United States, including the Norfolk, Virginia Naval Base.
Sepia panoramic photo of women yeomen at the Norfolk, Virginia Navy Yard, January 30, 1919. Image shows three rows of women posed in uniform for the camera. An inscription reads: "Yeoman [illegible] Industrial Department of Norfolk Navy Yard[,] Norfolk VA[?,] Jan. 30, 1919[.]" According to a label on the glass, the photo was taken by G. L. Hall Optical Co from Norfolk, VA.
This is a single item collection.
Naval History and Heritage Command holds materials on women Yeoman, including panoramic photographs from the Norfolk Navy Yard.
The Military Women's Memorial Collections holds material on American women's military service, including World War I women Yeomen.
Path, Nathaniel. "The Story of the Female Yeomen during the First World War." National Archives and Records Administration, 2006. https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2006/fall/yeoman-f.html.
"World War I era Yeomen (F)." Naval History and Heritage Command, accessed August 7, 2023. https://www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/people---special-topics/women-in-the-navy/world-war-i-era-yeomen--f--.html.