The Home Front in World War Two

by Susie Hodge

  “Nearly 1,700,000 unmarried women between 20 and 30, and 70,000 youths between 18½ and 19, are among the vast number of people affected by the Government’s new conscription plans, which were announced by Mr Churchill in the House of Commons yesterday.”

  The article went on to explain the new parliamentary act; outlining who would now be liable for national service and giving the main points made by Winston Churchill in his speech on the subject. It listed the organisations for which the unmarried female recruits might be called. In the same speech, Churchill had declared that men from 41 to 50 were now also to be called up. Even the number of Conscientious Objectors dropped drastically at this point and the whole shape of people’s lives changed entirely once more.

  Signing up

  All three military services were open for women to join – the army, the air force and the navy. Women were also appointed as air raid wardens. In 1943, Rosalie Somers, aged 18, was working as an air raid warden in Hammersmith, London:

  “The most traumatic part of my job was digging and searching for survivors after a bomb had blown up part of a street. The devastation was dreadful – the smell; the homes ripped apart; the mess; but worst of all, to try to find people alive, who hadn’t been blasted to smithereens or suffocated under the rubble. When we searched a bomb site, we did it in silence to try to hear anything, like tapping or muffled noises, in case someone might be still alive under there. Whatever happened, you had to keep cheerful and hopeful – everyone did.”

  Apart from actually fighting, women in the Armed forces did the same work as men, but they were mainly given “safer” jobs. Women in the Forces received two-thirds of the pay of their male counterparts. The Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) was originally formed in 1916 during World War One and was the first of the armed forces to recruit women. It was re-formed for World War Two in the spring of 1939. All eligible women living near naval ports could apply to join. WRNS did not go to sea on fighting warships, but took over male roles as cooks, clerks, code experts and electricians; so that more men were free to fight. In the army, women joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), which was formed in 1938. To attract female applicants, the recruiting posters were intentionally glamorous, but on joining, women were employed in rather mundane occupations, such as drivers, cleaners, cooks, translators or administrators. Many worked in the Anti-Aircraft Command, tracking and aiming ack-ack guns on enemy planes over Britain, but only men were allowed to actually fire the guns. Later in the war, women in the ATS were also employed as welders, carpenters, armourers, draughtsmen and electricians; all specialist, previously entirely male occupations. By July 1942, there were 217,000 women in the ATS.

  The Women’s Royal Air Force (WRAF) originally closely followed the formation of the men’s Royal Air Force (RAF) in April 1918, but it was disbanded in 1920. In the summer of 1939, the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) was re-formed. As previously, it came under the administration of the RAF and initially, like the other services, WAAFs were recruited to work as clerks, kitchen orderlies and drivers, so that the men could be released for front-line duties. As the war continued, women were given more responsibilities, such as working in radar stations, tracking enemy bombers, analysing and intercepting codes, or maintaining and flying barrage balloons. At first, it was believed that women would not have the strength to operate the massive barrage balloons, but they turned out to be surprisingly good at it and eventually, women ran more than 1,000 barrage balloon sites throughout Britain. By the end of the war, 70 per cent of the WAAF worked in skilled roles, such as engineering and machinery operations. WAAFs were not allowed to fly, but it soon became imperative that pilots were available for active duty and not ‘wasted’ on routine jobs. This led to the formation of the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA), which was a reserve service that trained and supplied pilots for secondary roles, such as flying aircraft back for repairs or from factories to air bases. Over the six years of war, 150 women flew with the ATA, including the pioneering Amy Johnson, who died on an ATA flight from Blackpool to RAF Kidlington near Oxford in 1941.

  The First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) was founded in 1907, it was an independent female unit and registered charity associated with, but separate from, the army. FANYs were active in both nursing and intelligence work during World War One and in the early 1940s, about 2,000 FANYs undertook espionage work for the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Their highly dangerous jobs involved being sent into enemy-occupied territory and working as saboteurs, couriers and radio operators. About another 2,000 women, specially selected for their intelligence and reliability, were employed at the Government Code and Cipher School at Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire. There they learned to use the Enigma machine through which they deciphered German secret codes.

  The backbone of Britain

  While many women were joining the armed forces, many others worked in industries that were normally the realms of men. Their lives were changing irreversibly yet they faced the changes and hardships with determination, humour and a sense of reality. Most women had to do everything in the home that they had always done, plus the jobs that men had traditionally done, such as changing plugs, paying bills, decorating and household repairs. As with all other contingencies, the government provided leaflets giving tips and guidance on dealing with these unfamiliar issues and situations, and magazine articles also offered a plethora of friendly advice.

  A huge strength in the fight against Hitler and in keeping up morale was the development of numerous voluntary organisations. As most men of working age were in the armed forces, most voluntary organisations in Britain were full of women. The WVS was one of the biggest. In the prelude to war in 1938, the Home Secretary, Sir Samuel Hoare started the Women’s Voluntary Service for Air Raid Precautions to help in the expected air attacks. When war broke out in September 1939, it already had 165,000 members. Wearing their distinctive green and maroon uniforms, they soon began helping in many other areas, and their name was changed to the WVS for Civil Defence. As younger women usually worked in factories or joined the Forces, the WVS was made up predominantly of older women from all social backgrounds. They worked tirelessly and cheerfully, helping and organising, moving into areas and situations where they were really needed and generally forming the backbone of Britain. From the start, the slogan for the WVS was: “the WVS never says no” and their work was diverse. For instance, during the Blitz, London WVS members supplied tea and refreshments to people sheltering in the tube stations and to fire fighters while they cleared up after bombing raids. They organised salvage collections and passed second-hand clothing to those who needed it and they organised knitting and sewing circles, making items of clothing such as socks, jumpers and balaclavas for servicemen. They made glue and fertilisers out of leftover food bones that no one else wanted. They gathered hedgerow fruits to make jam and vegetables (with permission) from the gardens of those who had been evacuated, to give to men in minesweepers and small naval craft who were at sea for long periods and unable to get fresh vegetables. In winter, they added cakes and mince pies to their donations. They made bandages out of old sheets and pyjamas and hospital gowns for the wounded. In 1939 and 1940; they were pivotally involved in assisting with the evacuation of one and a half million mothers and children. Some members ran canteens and rest centres for those who had been bombed out of their homes and many others helped out in public air raid shelters and set up mobile first aid and refreshment centres where they were needed. Betty King remembered:

  “My mum was a member of our local WVS. She worked very hard, doing all sorts of things. Most of the time she worked in a canteen that had been set up in an empty shop and cooked and served there on several days a week, from early until late. Anyone would go in, but it was mainly for servicemen and women to have somewhere to go to buy snacks and drinks in warm, friendly surroundings. My mum was also involved with the Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen’s Help Society that helped anyone in the Forces needing any help, from finan
cial assistance to health advice. Although she still looked after my brother and me, my mum nearly always worked seven days a week in some capacity for the WVS. Even when she wasn’t working in the canteen, she would be altering clothes for the clothing exchange or knitting or darning!”

  WVS duties included:

  1 . Organising salvage collections, including removing iron railings and collecting clothes and aluminium and passing clothes and other essentials on to those whose homes had been bombed.

  2. Harvesting rose-hips, which were subsequently used to make a vitamin-enriched syrup which was then given to mothers and children.

  3. Setting up and running Incident Inquiry Points after air raids to help anyone affected with such things as finding emergency refuge or medical assistance or liaising in searches for missing people.

  4. Setting up rest centres and mobile canteens to provide refreshments for Civil Defence workers and civilians affected by the bombing.

  5. Visiting the elderly who might be confused or distressed by the air raids.

  6. Initiating and implementing the re-homing gift scheme, which was the finding and arranging of temporary accommodation after people had been bombed out of their homes.

  7. Organising evacuation and the billeting of evacuees.

  8. Giving advice on nutrition, growing food and the cooking of rationed food or how to cook without gas or electricity after air raids.

  9. Providing food and clothing for those who most needed them.

  10. Staffing hostels, clubs and communal feeding centres and undertaking welfare work for troops.

  11. Organising clothing exchanges of donated clothes (usually from the USA), especially of children’s clothes where they could be exchanged for larger sizes as they grew.

  12.When American troops began arriving in Britain in 1942, the WVS ran 200 “British Welcome Clubs” across the country.

  The AFS, NFS and VAD

  Many women helped out with the voluntary Auxiliary Fire Service (AFS), which was formed at the outbreak of war to assist professional fire fighters during air raids. In August 1941, the name was changed to the National Fire Service (NFS), when regional Fire Brigades and the AFS were merged. After that, many more women joined and official uniforms were issued. By March 1943 there were 32,200 women in the NFS, most employed part-time as they also had other occupations. Women’s roles in the NFS included working on the switchboard; training new recruits; driving petrol-filled tankers through fires and bomb-blasted streets to re-fuel fire engines; driving canteen lorries to badly bomb-damaged sites, where they administered hot drinks, snacks and encouragement to firemen.

  Before the war, it had been unheard of for married women to work, but from 1941, once registered with the Ministry of Labour, many women returned to jobs they had done before they married, such as teaching or nursing. Nurses, of course, were especially needed and those who were qualified were strongly encouraged to return. Eleanor Samuels worked as a nurse in Whitechapel for most of the war:

  “I often worked on night duty. When there were air raids, we all ran to push all the beds into the centre of the ward, so if there was any flying glass, it would hopefully miss the patients. Even though it was so horrific, we all laughed a lot and I saw some wonderful acts of kindness and friendship. Everyone helped each other and even the patients, as long as they weren’t completely infirm, helped where they could. There were a few miseries, but you get those anywhere! On the whole, we all kept smiling – everyone helped each other.”

  Meanwhile, untrained but willing women were sent on short, three-month training courses with the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). This organisation, which had been founded in 1909 with the help of the Red Cross and St John’s Ambulance, provided nursing services across Britain and the rest of Europe to augment the professional nursing services. To become a member of a local VAD, men and women had to have certificates in first aid. At first, VADs were simply used as auxiliaries; cleaning wards, helping to wash patients, administering bed baths and bed pans and so on, while professional nurses did the ‘real’ nursing. Eventually, the escalating numbers of patients meant that VADs had to do a lot more and many proved to be particularly competent, even though to begin with they were often resented by the nurses, but interaction improved as the war continued. Some VADs worked in other essential roles, such as cooks, clerks, laboratory assistants and x-ray operators. Sheila Atkinson remembered her time in the VAD:

  “I joined the VAD in 1942 when I was sixteen and was sent on a three-month nurse’s training course. Immediately after that, I was sent to a hospital in Coventry as a night nurse. I worked five nights a week from 9pm to 5am, with a wage of £5 a week. The National Health Service didn’t exist until 1948 and so in those days there were two types of hospital. Voluntary hospitals were dependent on subscriptions, donations by companies and payment for treatment by private patients. Local authorities funded the other type of hospitals, which were called infirmaries and had quite poor reputations. I was lucky enough to work in a voluntary hospital, but conditions were still very hard and I was permanently exhausted. We only got one night off a week and three days every three months, but despite the tiredness and the horrific injuries we tended and upsetting sights we saw, we all kept each other going and when the war was over I missed the feeling of camaraderie.”

  In total, over the war period nearly 350,000 women served as nurses and first-aiders.

  Land girls

  In July 1939, the Women’s Land Army (WLA), which had been formed in 1917 during World War One, was re-formed. At first, women were asked to volunteer, but later they were enlisted. In 1941, there were 20,000 “Land Girls” as they became called, and within three years, there were 80,000. Working on farms and in forestry, the WLA was crucial as Hitler’s U-boats prevented essential supplies from reaching Britain. For a while, Britain was in real danger of being starved into submission, but the work undertaken on the land by women from all walks of life and in all parts of the country changed that around. As with the armed forces, advertising for Land Girls portrayed glamour and a healthy lifestyle. In reality, the work was hard and usually done in isolated and primitive conditions. Land Girls, the majority of whom had never experienced such work and were often not strong, sowed, hoed, drove tractors, milked cows, looked after livestock, thatched, gathered crops and more. Their determination to learn and to succeed was remarkable and their contribution to the war effort was enormous. Called the Land Army because of their tight rules and regulations, most women were employed directly by farmers and were paid a minimum of £1 2s 6d a week. They lived in hostels on the land where they worked and usually had one week’s holiday a year. In winter, they worked up to 48 hours a week and during the summer, up to 50 hours a week. As about one third of the Land Girls across Britain came from London, Middlesex or northern industrial towns, it was a huge culture shock for many, but their efforts have become legendary. June Warren had just left school when the war broke out:

  “In early 1940, I joined the Women’s Land Army because I wanted to live in the country. I’d grown up in Edgware and was longing to experience wide open fields and big skies and to work with animals. First my uniform arrived. It was awful! Khaki coloured breeches that laced at the knees, so bending my legs was difficult. There were also knee length woollen stockings, brown leather shoes, shirts, green jumpers, a broad leather belt and other dull items, including overalls and Wellington boots. My mum was heartbroken when I left, but I thought it was a big adventure. It wasn’t quite that! For the first few months I felt very homesick. Our hostel – a wooden hut in a field – had basic amenities: showers, a bath and toilets, a kitchen and common room and a dormitory with bunk beds. There wasn’t much privacy. The work was repetitive and heavy and the hours were very long. Hoeing, ploughing, milking, harvesting and building hay ricks were just some of our responsibilities. Our hands were always dry and sore, our backs and legs always ached, but we wouldn’t give up. The farmer thought that we ‘townies’ weren’t skilled or stro
ng enough to do the jobs properly, but we proved him wrong!”

  WLA hostels’ house rules included:

  • Punctuality at all times.

  • Intoxicating drinks were banned.

  • No food could be taken into dormitories at any time.

  • “Lights out” was at 11pm every night, with girls in by 10.30, except two late passes were allowed during the week, one until 11pm (lights out in that case at 11.30 or midnight on Saturdays).

  • If girls intended to spend a night away from the hostel or to be absent from a meal, they had to inform the warden beforehand.

  • Lighting candles or smoking in dormitories was forbidden.

  • A House Committee was elected by girls in each hostel. It consisted of five members who each served on the committee for six months.

  • Land Girls were urged not to draw attention to themselves with noisy or thoughtless behaviour.

  • Any Land Girl’s time in residence could be terminated by the warden or other organisers of the Land Army.

  Essential work

  For the first time ever, women were taking on men’s jobs, previously considered to be too physical or complicated for them. Many were operating heavy machinery, turning lathes, stoking boilers, making weapons and shells, or plane or tank parts. Approximately 100,000 women worked on the railways, in jobs such as carriage cleaners, porters, ticket-collectors and mechanics. Another 100,000 worked in the Post Office, while others worked in shops and factories and as plumbers, electricians, chimney sweeps, drivers (of lorries, ambulances, buses and other necessary vehicles). Women proved to be far more resilient, adaptable and able than most had anticipated. In 1942, in a morale-raising exercise, Clement Attlee, then Deputy Prime Minister, made a speech in the House of Commons. Part of it particularly encouraged female workers: