They were given a uniform and had to live on the farms where they were sent to work. The women who worked on farms were known as ‘Land Girls’. The Queen, then Princess Elizabeth in 1945, aged 19 (©Crown Copyright IWM)Īway from these vital roles more than 80,000 women joined the Women’s Land Army, enduring tough conditions and long hours in isolated rural outposts in order to prevent Britain from being ‘starved out’. Winston Churchill’s youngest daughter, Mary Churchill (later Lady Soames) also served as a member of the ATS. She trained as a driver and mechanic and reached the rank of Junior Commander. The most notable member of the ATS during the Second World War was the then Princess Elizabeth. There were over 640,000 women in the armed forces, including The Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) and the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), plus many more who flew unarmed aircraft, drove ambulances, served as nurses and worked behind enemy lines in the European resistance in the Special Operations Executive. They also played a vital role on the home front, running households and fighting a daily battle of rationing, recycling, reusing, and cultivating food in allotments and gardens.įrom 1941, women were called up for war work, in roles such as as mechanics, engineers, munitions workers, air raid wardens, bus and fire engine drivers.Īt first, only single women, aged 20-30 were called up, but by mid-1943, almost 90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were working in factories, on the land or in the armed forces. With thousands of men away serving in the armed forces, British women took on a variety of jobs during the Second World War.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |