Skip to main content

Vera Keen Griffin Collection

 Collection
Identifier: WV 0238

Scope and Contents

The collection includes an oral history transcript, 9 January 2002; various copies of correspondence, 16 May 1943 and 28 May 1943; 2 photograph copies of Griffin marching with her regiment, undated; a photograph of Griffin with friends and family on her wedding day, undated; a photograph copy of Griffin's mother marching in Ewell Veterans parade, circa 1967-1968.

Dates

  • 1941-1967

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical / Historical

Vera Keen Griffin (b. 1923) of Ewell, Surrey, England served in the British Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) from 1940 to 1944. Vera Keen Griffin was born in Ewell, Surrey in the United Kingdom in August 1923. She graduated from high school in 1937 at age fourteen and then worked as a nanny for several years. In March 1940 she joined the Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) of the British Royal Air Force (RAF) in London.

She went to Innsworth in Gloucester for basic training, and was then sent to Melksham to learn to become a cook. Griffin was then stationed in Liverpool, working in the kitchen and living in a merchant marine hotel. She married in January of 1943, but her first husband was killed four months later.

Griffin then requested a transfer to Coastal Command Headquarters in Middlesex, closer to her home town. She married her second husband, an American soldier, in August 1944. She was stationed in Middlesex until her discharge in December 1944 when she became pregnant. After WWII, Griffin moved with her husband to the United States. They lived in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Delaware with their three sons. Griffin moved to North Carolina in 1997.

Extent

0.21 Linear Feet (3 folders)

Language of Materials

English

Metadata Rights Declarations

  • License: This record is made available under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons license.

Physical Description

The condition is good.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processed by Megan Mieure.

Title
Vera Keen Griffin Collection
Status
Completed
Author
Megan Mieure
Date
2022 August
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246