Wars and ConflictsΒ permalink
Women's Roles in WW2
This discussion has been closed.
-
Message 1.Β
Posted by vesturiiis (U13688567) on Friday, 17th July 2009
Naturally a lot of us concentrate on the frontline men but how about some input from the female angle especially interested from Great Britain. Have read that British females were active militarily right from 1939 and that AH did not want any female soldiering?
-
Message 2
Posted by Frank Parker (U7843825) on Saturday, 18th July 2009
Whilst there were women in the British forces (including Princess - later to become Queen - Elizabeth), it was mostly women that kept the arms factories going, supported food production as "Land Girls" and provided the back bone of "Air Raid Precautions" (later renamed Civil Defence).
-
Message 3
Posted by Spruggles (U13892773) on Saturday, 18th July 2009
Plotinlaois,
I think you are forgetting WAAFs WRACs and WRENS not to mention NURSES. Just for the record, WAAFs worked in the plotting rooms, drove bomb tenders, and fuel bowsers were photographic interpreters and helped service aircraft.
The WRENS also drove all manor of vehicles and worked in intelligence.
The WRACs also drove lorries and VIPs, worked in intelligence and on Anti-aircraft and balloon barrage sites.
Civilian women also staffed telephone exchanges, drove tractors and were the majority of staff at Bletchley Park. There were also female engineers in factories. The person who cured the design problem with the carb' in the Spitfire whereby the engine cut out during negative 'G' was a female.
Also please remember that they also delivered aircraft, from Tiger Moths to the Lancaster from the factories to the airfields.
The nurses of course served in all theatres of war and also drove ambulances and were operating theatre staff. -
Message 4
Posted by LongWeekend (U3023428) on Sunday, 19th July 2009
The mobilisation of women in the UK was an outstanding achievement of the war effort. Among the major combattant nations, the UK mobilised a greater proportion of its female workforce than any other, except the USSR (which had peacetime direction of the workforce, anyway). Germany, on the other hand, mobilised the smallest proportion, and often to non-war related jobs like domestic service.
The UK had learned the lessons of the Great War and recognised that its potential workforce (male and female) stood at around 33 millions, much smaller than Germany's. This disparity dramatically increased after the fall of France, when Germany got access to most of Europe's work force and industry.
From about 16 million women of working age, just over 7 million were mobilised.
Armed Services: 467,000
Civil Defence (full time): 56,000
Munitions: 1,851,000
Other essential industry: 1,644,000
Other employment: 3,103,000
There were also about 1,000,000 women doing voluntary work. The Evacuation Scheme, emergency feeding and clothing and the various Forces canteen scheems would not have been possible without these volunteers.
Women between 21 (later 19) and 41 had to register for National Service. This included married women without children and married women with children over 14. One consequence was that women who had been forced to give up professional jobs on marriage under the conditions of the day, such as teachers, were often asked to return to their old jobs during the war, to their irritation.
The contribution to industry, as in the Great War, was the single biggest contribution to the war effort.
The WRNS was the most popular of the female Auxiliary Services. One anomaly of war time servce was that the nurses of the Queen Alexandra Imperial Military Nursing Service, the only permanent female service, found they were paid less than officers in the ATS, WRNS and WAAF.
The most popular civilian service was the Land Army - so much so that recruiting was suspended at the end of 1943.
There are some very interesting articles on female service in WWII on the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Peoples' War site (have they fixe3d the search engine, yet
)
LW
p.s Spruggles, it was the ATS in WWII - the WRAC was created after the war, when the Army finally accepted it had to have female soldiers even in peacetime. -
Message 5
Posted by Spruggles (U13892773) on Sunday, 19th July 2009
LongWeekend,
Quite right, my mistake and thanks for your post. I wrote fairly late at night and I was in a hurry to go to bed(that's my excuse out of the way). I just didn't want anyone to get the wrong impression that ladies only stayed at home knitting socks for the troops. And as a mere male I find it annoying that women do not receive their just acknowledgements for their part in the Allied victory.
Regards Spruggs -
Message 6
Posted by LongWeekend (U3023428) on Sunday, 19th July 2009
Spruggles
I endorse your views, although I think there is more recognition these days (and that memorial parked on Whitehall). People recognised it at the time (not always with approval). The film "Millions Like Us" from 1943 was written for the purpose, and is rather good, even at this distance3.
The appalling official sexism shown elsewhere during the war towards women, despite the need for their work, is a wonder to behold. I have been helping my daughter research the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Front, and things like the MoI "Living With Strangers" (about the strains of evacuation on the bileltted and the billetees) outraged her.
The pamphlet "Eve In Overalls" written by someone called Arthur Wauters (and available from the IWM as a reprint) is a classic example of strangulated chauvinism warring with the need to promote women's achievement. To be fair, later on in the war, they got women to write about women (revolutionary idea, never catch on).
LW -
Message 7
Posted by Frank Parker (U7843825) on Sunday, 19th July 2009
Hi Spruggles. Not forgetting them (if you re-read my first sentence I said "..there were women in the armed forces"). I was just pointing out some of the vital but less widely acknowleged roles women played. As confirmed by Long Weekend's statistics. I think we are all on the same wave length here. My mum was in ARP through the worst of the London blitz - until evacuated when expecting me!
-
Message 8
Posted by Spruggles (U13892773) on Monday, 20th July 2009
Plotinlaois,
Sorry if I gave the wrong impression;I did not intend to disparage your post, as on re-reading my post it might seem that it might be deemed so. Moral; never write in a hurry and always re-read what you write.
It has always been a source of irritation to me that so much potential mental and physical power was and is still denied the country purely on the grounds of male chauvinism.
But that is also the case with the disabled but I must refrain from mounting that incredibly tall equine specie of mine.
Apologies and Regards Spruggs. -
Message 9
Posted by Spruggles (U13892773) on Monday, 20th July 2009
LongWeekend,
Strange isn't it that contemporary reports all indicate that women were the best radar and
predictor operators, the best operation room plotters and certainly stood alongside the men when it came to courage under fire during the blitz but as in WW1, they were expected to return to obscurity when the peace whistle blew.
But as you say at long last the record is being redressed. As recent acknowledgement of the valiant work of the ATA girls have shown. Sadly though, many of those who deserved the recognition have now passed on, which is a great pity. -
Message 10
Posted by Palaisglide (U3102587) on Tuesday, 21st July 2009
The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Peoples war series did get many stories from the ladies who took part in all aspects of women at war, if and when they ever cure the bugs in the system we may be able to read those stories.
My first sight of women at war was when the WAAF came to our village, they manned (womaned) the Barrage Balloons that guarded ICI not far from us.
Others in the ATS were on the Ack Ack Guns and found themselves well and truly on the front line as the Germans came night after night.
We must not forget the many women who had to put their under school age children in nurseries in order to do their war work. Those nurseries helped to get many more of the women into work, there were quite a few built in our area although some did use existing buildings.
My own mother did war work as an electrician at the large bomber base near us. They were rapidly trained and did everything the men did but for far less pay of course.
From my view of things the war was an all enveloping blanket covering everyone, even us lads collected scrap metal, Paper, glass, and anything we could get our hands on to build tanks and planes.
The war gave many women the chance to earn money which they could spend on themselves, adventure as many young women were moved from home towns to where they were needed to work in munition factories and such, so freedom from parental supervision.
For those in the forces travel to places they had only read about in books, or seen on films.
I would think it was a body blow to many when it all ended and most had to go back to being housewives. A very important job but not near as exciting.
Frank. -
Message 11
Posted by Spruggles (U13892773) on Tuesday, 21st July 2009
refrankmee,
Absolutely. My mother-in-law was just such a person who found work away from the humdrum factories. She had such wonderful experiences, (including working with Italian POWs, who, she said 'were very nice')that she actually cried when peace was declared and she realised that she had to return to her local factory.
Regards Spruggles. -
Message 12
Posted by Nik (U1777139) on Wednesday, 22nd July 2009
!
About this Board
The History message boards are now closed. They remain visible as a matter of record but the opportunity to add new comments or open new threads is no longer available. Thank you all for your valued contributions over many years.
or Β to take part in a discussion.
The message board is currently closed for posting.
The message board is closed for posting.
This messageboard is .
Find out more about this board's
Search this Board
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ iD
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ navigation
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ links
Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Β© 2014 The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.