eatingcroutons:

ihadfaith: I feel like I need to point out something. Peggy lied on her enlistment form. She was born in 1919, and in 1934 she joined the RAF as a nurse. She was 15 years old. At 17 she was joining the Special Air Service, 21 when she joined the SSR. Don’t tell me she wouldn’t teasingly lord that over Steve’s head. At least one of us got away with lying on our enlistment forms. (all of this borrowed from here) You’d think after all the time I’ve spent on the MCU timeline I would have made that connection myself…! Awesome find. historicalagentcarter do you have any information about what the process was like to join the RAF as a nurse in the 30s, or how feasible this would have been for Peggy?

Oh, that pesky, nonsensical Marvel SHIELD file. Basically, it doesn’t really work to have a 15 year old joining the RAF, especially not as a nurse, which would have required training. The file actually calls the RAF the “British Air Force,” too, so. And there’s another inaccuracy regarding the foundation of the Special Air Service and the date Peggy is supposed to have joined. No one at Marvel does any research, apparently (or has access to fancy tools like a calculator).

In the past, I’ve suggested justifying the reference to Peggy’s nursing in one of the following ways (I lean towards the second option):

1. As a teen, Peggy could have served with the St. John Ambulance Brigade.

2. Special Operations Executive agents who were sent to France to aid in the resistance were given honorary ranks in other agencies to provide a cover for what they were really doing. Some were given ranks in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), some were given ranks in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY).

I’m not a definitive source on the subject, but basically, given what we do know about her experience in the war, I don’t believe Peggy was ever a proper nurse.

Here are some other posts where this has been mentioned:

Peggy’s awards and past as a nurse

Peggy with the St. John Ambulance Brigade

Peggy with the FANY

A quote from SOE agent Pearl Witherington, who was given an honorary WAAF rank

An overview of Peggy’s SHIELD file (why it’s garbage, and what we should really take away from it)

(via eatingcroutons)