Lillian M. Pimlott Collection

Only a part of this collection has been digitized.

https://uncg.as.atlas-sys.com/repositories/2/resources/541

Correspondence; military papers; photographs; and printed material primarily document Lillian Pimlott's 1943-1946 service in the WAVES and her continued military service in the naval reserves. Letters to family and friends describe Pimlott's 1937 travels to England; her World War II service in the WAVES primarily at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; and news of social engagements and activities. Topics of her letters include women in the military, the culture and nature in Hawaii, and Pimlott's desire to remain in the service. Other military materials include naval handbooks and souvenirs.

Lillian Mary Pimlott of Trenton, New Jersey, served in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) during World War II. Lillian Mary Pimlott, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Pimlott, Sr., was born in Trenton, N.J. She graduated from Immaculate Conception High School and attended New Jersey State Teachers' College and the University of Pennsylvania. She was a teacher before joining the WAVES in March 1943. In the fall of 1943, Pimlott worked in a recruiting office in Chicago. One year later, in October 1944, she was transferred to Washington, D.C., where she served as an administrative assistant with a committee for the standardization of naval terminology. Pimlott received orders in April 1945 to go to Pearl Harbor, but she trained enlisted WAVES in Shoemaker, Calif., before sailing to Hawaii. Once in Hawaii, Pimlott worked in the District Personnel Office classifying men and women and aiding them in job placement. She remained in that position until August 1946. In August 1946, Pimlott was sent to Lakehurst, N.J., where she was stationed at the United States Naval Air Station. She volunteered to stay with the United States Naval Reserve until July 1947, but remained at the base in Lakehurst at least through the end of that year. It appears that Pimlott either stayed in the service or left after 1947 and then returned in the early 1950s. A collection of recruiting pamphlets and handbooks from the 1960s and early 1970s indicates that she may have worked as a recruiter or as an instructor in naval schools. In 1964, when stationed at the naval base in Newport, R.I., Pimlott was appointed commander. Her date of retirement from the navy is unknown. In the mid-1950s, Lillian Pimlott married Al Newbanks.

Women's History
Military

Navy -- WAVES

World War II era (1940-1946)

World War, 1939-1945
United States. Navy--Women

Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives, UNCG University Libraries