A Women's Auxiliary Air Force’s Tale: The Knicky Chapman Collection
Presentation Type
Event
Start Date
8-3-2026 3:52 PM
Description
Knicky Chapman was one of the first intake of Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) personnel to attend the No. 2 School of Photography during the Second World War. This paper will shed light on the WAAF’s training at the school, as recorded by photographs in the Historic England Archive’s Knicky Chapman Collection. It will also consider Chapman’s posting to the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit at Pinewood Studios and her post-war photography of historic buildings and vernacular architecture, which comprises the bulk of the content of the collection.
Gary Winter is the Archive Engagement and Content Officer for Historic England—the public body that champions England's historic environment. He has worked in various roles at Historic England and its predecessors—the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and English Heritage—for over 25 years. He has used the Archive’s extensive collections to produce public exhibitions, create online content, share images via social media and to undertake engagement activities with young people and older people. He has co-authored several books, including England's Seaside Resorts (with Allan Brodie; Swindon: English Heritage, 2007), and Picturing England: The Photographic Collections of Historic England (with Mike Evans and Anne Woodward; Swindon: Historic England, 2015).
Relational Format
Conference proceeding
Recommended Citation
Winter, Gary, "A Women's Auxiliary Air Force’s Tale: The Knicky Chapman Collection" (2026). Women of Photography: A 24-Hour Conference-a-thon Celebrating International Women’s Day. 38.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/womenofphotography/2026/schedule/38
A Women's Auxiliary Air Force’s Tale: The Knicky Chapman Collection
Knicky Chapman was one of the first intake of Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) personnel to attend the No. 2 School of Photography during the Second World War. This paper will shed light on the WAAF’s training at the school, as recorded by photographs in the Historic England Archive’s Knicky Chapman Collection. It will also consider Chapman’s posting to the Royal Air Force Film Production Unit at Pinewood Studios and her post-war photography of historic buildings and vernacular architecture, which comprises the bulk of the content of the collection.
Gary Winter is the Archive Engagement and Content Officer for Historic England—the public body that champions England's historic environment. He has worked in various roles at Historic England and its predecessors—the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England and English Heritage—for over 25 years. He has used the Archive’s extensive collections to produce public exhibitions, create online content, share images via social media and to undertake engagement activities with young people and older people. He has co-authored several books, including England's Seaside Resorts (with Allan Brodie; Swindon: English Heritage, 2007), and Picturing England: The Photographic Collections of Historic England (with Mike Evans and Anne Woodward; Swindon: Historic England, 2015).