Help Identify

[muffett.2008]

I'm hoping the collective brain can help identify these Uniforms.
This trio are from the French side of my wifes family.

Information

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[Gil Boyd]

Muffett,
The two ladies uniforms are clearly UK ATS uniforms. The women's branch of the army was called the Auxiliary Territorial Service, or ATS. Free French badged.
It was formed in 1938 and after one year 17,000 women volunteers had joined up.
This number grew to over 200,000 by the end of 1943.
The new recruits were sent to army camps for their basic training. Here they slept in huts, learnt to march and obey orders and kept the camp scrubbed clinically clean. At the end of the four weeks of training there were written and practical tests to find out which line of work they were best suited to.
In terms of the lad in the middle, he was probably supplied that by an American Unit as Free French, looking at the shape of the cut on the pockets and the jacket. Hope that helps

[Flying10uk]

Isn't that a French naval/marine cap badge that the chap is wearing, in the middle?

I would have thought that both ladies would have been badly wanted by SOE because they were natural French speaking. If not for working as agents in France then for their knowledge of France and the French language, working in the UK.

[muffett.2008]

Thanks Gil, both the girls, Cleo and Helene, were at one time part of the resistance, this pic is 1944.
Helene and family emigrated to OZ in 1950, Cleo stayed in France, Constantine not sure about, but he did survive.

I have a book on Uniforms but the wife has that much junk in front of that bookcase, it would take a Pantech to move it all.

[Flying10uk]

both the girls, Cleo and Helene, were at one time part of the resistance, this pic is 1944.

Suggesting that they were both in the SOE because they are seen in ATS uniforms, in the photo, which was sometimes used as a "cover" for SOE agents while in the UK.

[muffett.2008]

Any clues on the colour bars worn by the girls?

[Gil Boyd]

As a bit of a medal buff I would say they were both THE AFRICA STAR ribbons. Muffett might know of some service they both did in Morocco/Libya/Algeria during WW2!!

[Flying10uk]

Muffett might know of some service they both did in Morocco/Libya/Algeria during WW2!!

Perhaps he would be kind enough to tell us if he does.

both the girls, Cleo and Helene, were at one time part of the resistance, this pic is 1944.
Helene and family emigrated to OZ in 1950, Cleo stayed in France

He has already stated that both ladies were part of the resistance and I am assuming that he was referring to the French resistance, not to the campaign in North Africa.

[Gil Boyd]

Here you go at a guess from the image Muffett supplied above. SOE Men and Women operated in AFRICA/ITALY & GERMANY as well as FRANCE.
However, if the medal tells a story, I bet they also did some special time in the sandpit too, and probably on French former colony soil!

[Flying10uk]

The medals may be what you say, Gil, but the ATS uniform was normally used as a "cover" for female SOE agents, meaning that the ladies weren't actually doing what was normally associated with ATS personnel, they were secret agents.

He has already stated that both ladies were part of the resistance and I am assuming that he was referring to the French resistance, not to the campaign in North Africa.

SOE operated across occupied Europe.

My understanding is that SOE agents normally "worked" in the SOE section that they were assigned to. For example, SOE agents "working" in the Norwegian section would normally expect to work in Norway unless a specific operation demanded that they cross into another country. A SOE agent wouldn't routinely expect to be sent to another country other than the country of the section that they were working for, in my opinion. An SOE agent working in the French section would normally expect to be sent to France but there could be operational reasons why they may have been sent to other countries, on occasions. I would expect a SOE agent routinely working in North Africa to be a member of the North African section, not the French section.

The "Finishing School" for SOE agents was on the Beaulieu estate, now home to the UK's National Motor Museum.

Clydeside Images.com: The SOE Memorial Plaque at Beaulieu