Women at war
In July 1914, before the outbreak of war, 3.2 million women were in employment. By January 1918 this had risen to 5 million. Some 22 per cent of women who were unemployed in 1914 now had work.
During the war, 200,000 women were employed in government departments, 500,000 worked in clerical positions in private o ces and 700,000 worked in the munitions industry.
Women started doing hard, heavy work such as furnace-stoking and shipbuilding, having been excluded from such jobs before the war.
Women employed in munitions factories were popularly known as ‘munitionettes’, and they produced 80 per cent of the weapons and shells used by the British Army. The munitions industry was also the biggest source of employment for women.
Women of the landed gentry were left to run the family estates, and some turned their homes into hospitals. Highclere Castle, the real Downton Abbey, was opened as a hospital during the war by Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.
The war also saw the creation of the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF). Many worked as aircraft mechanics.
Some farmers resisted the idea of women working the land, and the Board of Trade had to send negotiators to persuade them. The Women’s Land Army was speci cally formed to o er cheap female labour to farmers who were reluctant to employ the fairer sex. By 1918, female labour made up around one-third of the agricultural workforce.
In Britain’s Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, established in 1917, women were denied full military status. They were enrolled rather than enlisted, and had grades and not ranks. They also earned less than a man of corresponding rank.
Women who volunteered for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) had to pay a joining fee and contribute 10 shillings a week for supplies. Some of those stationed in France brought their own cars with them, which were converted into ambulances. During cold weather, the girls (as they called themselves) had to run the engines of the ambulances every hour to prevent them from freezing up. It could take 10 minutes of hard work to get an engine to start, and this had to be done throughout the night too, so the ambulances were always ready when needed.
Elsie Knocker and Mairi Chisholm treated wounded soldiers in the Belgian village of Pervyse, just 100 yards from the front line, earning them the moniker ‘The Madonnas of Pervyse’. They were awarded numerous medals for bravery.
Although their work was dirty and dangerous, the girls were renowned for their hospitality, hosting teas, dances and other entertainments for o cers when they were off duty.
British nursing sisters and Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses (VADs), on the other hand, were forbidden from mixing with the men while o duty. One nurse wasn’t allowed to go for a walk with her father, who was a general.
One of the most famous VADs was Agatha Christie, who dispensed drugs as part of her work. This was where she learnt about poisons, knowledge which she later used when writing her mysteries.
VADs were middleand upper-class girls – only they could afford to work for free and pay for the exams and courses required.
The First World War was one of the catalysts for women getting the vote. In November 1918, 8.4 million women were given the right to vote – they had to be over 30, and either a householder or married to a householder.
The First World War In The Air exhibition will open at the RAF Museum, London NW9, in December.
During the war, 200,000 women were employed in government departments, 500,000 worked in clerical positions in private o ces and 700,000 worked in the munitions industry.
Women started doing hard, heavy work such as furnace-stoking and shipbuilding, having been excluded from such jobs before the war.
Women employed in munitions factories were popularly known as ‘munitionettes’, and they produced 80 per cent of the weapons and shells used by the British Army. The munitions industry was also the biggest source of employment for women.
Women of the landed gentry were left to run the family estates, and some turned their homes into hospitals. Highclere Castle, the real Downton Abbey, was opened as a hospital during the war by Almina, the 5th Countess of Carnarvon.
The war also saw the creation of the Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF). Many worked as aircraft mechanics.
Some farmers resisted the idea of women working the land, and the Board of Trade had to send negotiators to persuade them. The Women’s Land Army was speci cally formed to o er cheap female labour to farmers who were reluctant to employ the fairer sex. By 1918, female labour made up around one-third of the agricultural workforce.
In Britain’s Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, established in 1917, women were denied full military status. They were enrolled rather than enlisted, and had grades and not ranks. They also earned less than a man of corresponding rank.
Women who volunteered for the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) had to pay a joining fee and contribute 10 shillings a week for supplies. Some of those stationed in France brought their own cars with them, which were converted into ambulances. During cold weather, the girls (as they called themselves) had to run the engines of the ambulances every hour to prevent them from freezing up. It could take 10 minutes of hard work to get an engine to start, and this had to be done throughout the night too, so the ambulances were always ready when needed.
Elsie Knocker and Mairi Chisholm treated wounded soldiers in the Belgian village of Pervyse, just 100 yards from the front line, earning them the moniker ‘The Madonnas of Pervyse’. They were awarded numerous medals for bravery.
Although their work was dirty and dangerous, the girls were renowned for their hospitality, hosting teas, dances and other entertainments for o cers when they were off duty.
British nursing sisters and Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses (VADs), on the other hand, were forbidden from mixing with the men while o duty. One nurse wasn’t allowed to go for a walk with her father, who was a general.
One of the most famous VADs was Agatha Christie, who dispensed drugs as part of her work. This was where she learnt about poisons, knowledge which she later used when writing her mysteries.
VADs were middleand upper-class girls – only they could afford to work for free and pay for the exams and courses required.
The First World War was one of the catalysts for women getting the vote. In November 1918, 8.4 million women were given the right to vote – they had to be over 30, and either a householder or married to a householder.
The First World War In The Air exhibition will open at the RAF Museum, London NW9, in December.