AUSTRALIAN WOMEN

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 124, 19 February 1941, Page 4

AUSTRALIAN WOMEN

Some To Serve Abroad Au advance parly of 50 women wel- ! fare and canteen workers may be sent I to A.I.F. leave centres in the Middle ‘ Fast in lhe near future, says the Meli l.ourne "Argus.” i Fermat ion or a women's corps of this type is almost certain to be considered when the War Cabinet and Hie War Advisory Council meet in Melbourne. It. i.-. known already that Mr. Spender. Army Minister, favours the preposaj, and that it is likely to have tlie support of other Ministers. When .Mr. Spender returned from the Middle East recently Ito said that be was strongly convinced of the need for such a service. The type of corps which he had in mind, he said, would comprise women with definite qualifications for canteen work. It was learned recently that a women’s welfare corps, if sent to the Middle East, would lie under Army control and not a voluntary organization. Members would lie given special rank ami would have special duties to perform. Serious attention will have to be given to the method of selecting the most suitable women, but it is unlikely that wives of men serving with the A.I.F. overseas will be disqualified. It is pointed out that wives of British officers are doing splendid work in leave and welfare centres in the Middle East, and that the same privilege may be extended to women in Australia whose husbands are serving abroad.