WAR WORK BY WOMEN

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23349, 7 June 1941, Page 4

WAR WORK BY WOMEN

GREATER PART BEING TAKEN (F.0.0.C.) LONDON, April 24. With the passing of every month worflen in Britain are taking an ever-increasing part in the war. Women are now included in the fighting forces and ar operating predictors at anti-aircraft gun posts. Picked women receive specialised training and direct the firing of the guns. They wear battledress, and, of course, tin hats and the regulation gas masks. Women are also to take over a section of the balloon barrage. The North Midlands is to make the first experiment in a scheme which, if successful, will result in the W.A.A.F. taking over from men many of the barrage balloon sites. It is not proposed that they should take over other than land stations, but even this may mean the- release of thousands of men for other duties in the R.A.F. Girls who are already members of the W.A.A.F. are being given the first opportunity of serving in the “Amazon Flight,” as it has been decided to call the new experimental organisation. They are coming forward in sufficiently large numbers to ensure the experiment having a. thorough trial. Only the fittest will be called on, for the duties will be heavy and onerous. The Amazons will fly the balloons, drive the winches, and the trailers, and haul on the ropes. They will have their own distinctive uniform, probably a type of battledress in R.A.F. blue. Skirts would be unsuitable for working on muddy sites. Women are also to be employed to a greater extent by the railways. Three training schools for women doing clerical work have been opened by the Southern railway. A total of 3200 women have already taken over jobs on this line which were previously done by men. * They are working as painters, porters, storekeepers, booking clerks, and carriage cleaners. Women goods porters have just been issued with navy blue uniforms of trousers and coat, while the platform porters wear coats and skirts of heavy woollen material. The women painters have dungarees and berets. During a Ministry of Information weekly war commentary, Miss Caroline Haslett, adviser on women’s training to the Ministry of Labour, said there was no war work that women could not tackle provided they were given the chance. Women’s only complaint, she said, was that they had not yet been employed as completely as they would wish in the war effort. They were waiting for the call which said that every woman was wanted. So far women had not been given a voice in direction or policy, but the time for that was coming; hard necessity would bring it. Miss Haslett said women were learning the engineering work necessary for munition-making in 40 Government training centres, 96 technical colleges, and 43 works, as well as in a large number of factories where employers had their own training schemes. Women had been appointed works managers, supervisors and forewomen. Many ware doing highly technical work of a confidential character, as well as very fine operations on instrument-making. In an industrial area in the North women up to 60 years of age, many of them one-time mill hands, were taking engineering training. 1