]> Finding Aid for the Judith Bullock Nisbet Collection, 1942-1943 Processed by: Linda Jacobson; machine-readable finding aid created by: Elizabeth Carmichael

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Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: January 2004 Description is in English Nov. 2008 Finding aid updated for formatting by Cat S. McDowell Finding Aid for the Judith Bullock Nisbet Collection, 1942-1943 University Libraries, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro Descriptive Summary The University of North Carolina at Greensboro. University Archives & Manuscripts. Nisbet, Judith Bullock Judith Bullock Nisbet Collection, 1942-1943 WV0056 Material in English 3.02 linear feet 2 archival boxes For current information on the location of these materials, please consult University Archives & Manuscripts. Judith Bullock Nisbet was born in Red Springs, North Carolina, and served in the U.S. Navy WAVES (Women Accepted for Emergency Services) from 1942 to 1943. An oral history interview, memoir, photographs and textiles primarily document Nisbet's service during World War II. The oral history interview provides information about Nisbet's childhood in Red Springs, N.C., during the Depression, her education at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, and her service as a WAVE. Prominent subjects include training at Mount Holyoke College, her military jobs in Washington, D.C., and Presbyterian minister Peter Marshall. Memoir and photographs also document Nisbet's military service. Textiles include a WAVES dress white summer uniform. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. Individuals obtaining materials from University Archives & Manuscripts at UNCG are responsible for using the works in conformance with United States copyright law as well as any donor restrictions accompanying the materials.

Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Judith Bullock Nisbet Collection (WV0056), Betty H. Carter Women Veterans Historical Project, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC, USA.

Acquisitions Information

Gift of Judith Bullock Nisbet of Charlotte, N.C., on November 7, 1998, March 1999, and April 1999.

Processing Information

Processed by University Archives staff, 1999

Encoded by Elizabeth Carmichael, January 2004

Biographical Note

Judith Bullock was born in Red Springs, N.C., the youngest of five children. Her father, George, attended NC State and worked as an agronomist, specializing in tobacco. Her mother attended the Woman's College in Greensboro, N.C., and then Flora McDonald College in Red Springs. The couple married in 1906. George Bullock worked for the American Tobacco Company, eventually leaving North Carolina and working in Puerto Rico and Cuba. The rest of the family lived in Puerto Rico for several years, and then returned to Red Springs, where Judith Bullock attended high school. After graduating from high school, she spent two years at Peace College in Raleigh, N.C. Bullock transferred to Woman's College, where she majored in art, and graduated in 1941.

In August 1942, while taking defense courses in Raleigh, Bullock enlisted in the WAVES. She was called up in December and traveled by train to South Hadley, Mass., for training held at Mount Holyoke. She completed her training in February 1943, and was assigned to Public Works in the maintenance department of the Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington, D.C. She served as a messenger for several months and then held a series of other jobs in the maintenance department until the end of the war.

Bullock was put on reserve in November 1945, and in January 1946 she moved to Charlotte with her husband and started family. She married her first husband, Edward Shorty Thomas, on April 24, 1943.

Collection Overview

Judith Bullock Nisbet was born in Red Springs, North Carolina, and served in the WAVES (Women Accepted for Emergency Services-Navy) from 1942 to 1943. An oral history interview, memoir, photographs and textiles primarily document Nisbet's service during World War II. The oral history interview provides information about Nisbet's childhood in Red Springs, N.C., during the Depression, her education at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina, and her service as a WAVE. Prominent subjects include training at Mount Holyoke College, her military jobs in Washington, D.C., and Presbyterian minister Peter Marshall. Memoir and photographs also document Nesbit's military service. Textiles include a WAVES dress white summer uniform.

Organization of the Collection

The collection contains the following series.

Series 1. Oral History Series 2. Printed Material Series 3. Photographs Series 4. Textiles Detailed Description of the Collection Series 1. Oral History, 1999.

Documents Judith Bullock Nisbet's early life, school experiences, and military service. Nesbit provides a brief overview of her childhood in Red Springs, N.C., and her education at the Woman's College of the University of North Carolina (now UNC-Greensboro) in the early 1940s. She describes campus life, her social activities, and her studies.

Nisbet also describes her interest in the service and her experiences as a WAVE. Topics include the Red Springs, N.C., service club in 1942; WAVES entrance requirements; training at Mount Holyoke; her work in Washington, D.C., in Public Works delivering messenges, assigning bunks, assisting with the planning of fleet attacks, and gunning turrets for airplanes; feminism; patriotism; and the positive effects of her military service on her life.

Additional topics include Nisbet's 1943 wedding and singing in the choir at Peter Marshall's Presbyterian church in Washington, D.C.

Interviewed by J. Eric Elliott on March 22, 1999. Transcript: 56 pages. Sound recording: 2 audio cassettes (105 min.)

1Sound recording 2Transcript Series 2. Printed Material, n.d.

A detailed memoir of Nisbet's service with the WAVES from December 1942 to February 1943.

3 Memoir Series 3. Photographs, 1942-1943.

Photograph of Judith Bullock in uniform, 1942-1943, and wedding photograph of Judith Bullock Thomson and Lt. Edward H. Thomson, April 24, 1943, Lee Chapel, Washington & Lee University, Lexington, Va.

4 Photographs Series 4. Textiles, 1942-1943. 1 Dress White Summer Uniform Jacket Dress White Summer Uniform Skirt Dress Uniform White Leather Gloves Navy Shirt Blue Tie Separated Material

Separated items include oral history sound recording and textiles.

Online Catalog Headings Marshall, Peter, 1902-1949. Military uniforms. Mount Holyoke College. Nisbet, Judith Bullock United States--Armed Forces--Women. United States. Naval Reserve. Women's Reserve. Woman's College of the University of North Carolina. Women sailors--United States. Women veterans--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Women--United States. World War, 1939-1945--Participation, Female.