By Linda Stewart Henly
Although before the war women were prohibited from working in certain jobs, after the declaration of war in 1939, women were called upon to undertake essential jobs in factories, fields, and transportation. According to the Ministry of Labor, the percentage of women working in industrial jobs increased from 19.75 in 1938 to 27% in 1945. These tasks included making weapons and welding. Women were paid less than men for doing the same work, and they were expected to complete domestic tasks at home after finishing a full day of paid work. The government strongly encouraged them to “do their bit” for the war effort, and by late 1941 unmarried women were required to join military service.
Many women opted for military work in either the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens), the Women’s Auxiliary Force (Waffs), or the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS). Women working in these units wore uniforms. The ATS, which included transport services, was understaffed at first because women didn’t like the khaki uniforms, so more flattering clothes were redesigned to attract them. Princess Elizabeth joined and drove an ambulance. My mother Joan Stewart, a registered nurse, signed up as a Wren. She was posted to Malta, where she became Matron (head nurse) at a fever hospital. While there, she met my father, who was in the navy.
A few women were recruited under great secrecy to work at Bletchley Park, where the German Enigma code was broken. These women had exceptional mathematical or foreign language skills and often came from Oxford and Cambridge. Women working there were required to sign the Official Secrets Act and live on the premises. They were allowed almost no life outside for fear of security breaches. The 2021 historical novel The Rose Code by Kate Quinn depicts the lives of three talented women who worked there: https://www.amazon.com/Rose-Code-Novel-Kate-Quinn-ebook/dp/B089SZJF11/
Anacortes Author Linda Stewart Henly has a new book coming out on April 9. Kate's War is available at amazon.com. And, she'll be signing her books at Watermark Books on Saturday, April 27 from noon to 3pm.
Although women received pay for military work, many volunteered for the Women’s Voluntary Service. WVS Centers sprang up all over the country. Volunteers assisted with evacuations, and provided tea and sandwiches for men when they were off duty, besides clothing, help for mothers with babies, and some medical care.
As reported by Wikipedia, patriotism was the main reason that 487,000 women volunteered in the UK during the war. After the war ended in the summer of 1945, the WVS Centers closed. Many women volunteers missed the social lives they had come to enjoy there. On July 25, 1945, Nella Last wrote in her diary:
“I felt tired, but ironed my washing, as I’m going out to the Centre in the morning. My husband is very sulky about it. He said, ‘When the war got over, I thought you would always be in at lunch-time.” I said, ‘Well, you always have a good lunch left—much better than many men whose wives are always at home.’ He said, ‘Well, I like you there always.’ No thought as to either my feelings or the to any service I could be doing.”
This reminds me of the old adage: “A woman’s work is never done.”