"NAFFY"

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 120, 23 May 1930, Page 3

"NAFFY"

WOMEN IN CANTEENS

NEW; SERVICE INSTITUTES

One of the important; changes_ which have come to pass in England since the war is the substitution of a > restaurant service conducted by the central organisation known as the Navy, Army, and Air I'orce Institutes, in place of the oldtime canteen,- which was often little more than a bar. This change has produced many opportunities for women, and though, as of old, a certain number of men, largely ex-ser^ vice men, are employed, women are to-day-the prime factors in providing that homey atmosphere which is a feature of the modern institute. t : .. That this development has had an important bearing on morals is exemplified by the fact that whereas in. pre-war days beer accounted for .75 per. cent, of the canteen takings, the percentage now is only 10. , j ■ x ' Women were first employed m canteens in 1917, at the time of the "big push, when all the men were wanted in France. The experiment , was so successful that after the war many commanding officers insisted that their canteens should be staffed by women. It*was found that they had introduced better service and a better tone, as well as increased cleanliness and comfort, ' , , Each institute has a restaurant attached to provide extra meals and refreshments in addition to the meals prepared in the cookhouse. As the food-sales increased and the beer sales fell off the name canteen was altered to institute. The modern institute is, in-fact, a club with a.restaurant, bars, recreation rooms,. and so on. Miss B. 11. Crich ton's official title is Jjady Superintendent of the Navy, Army, and Air l'ovce Institutes. "But," she explained in an interview, "the Tommies don't like long names, so they immediately christened us "Naffy'l There are about 300 institutes - spread over the United Kingdom in barracks and camps of( the Navy, Army, and Air Force. Besides these there are some 150 others in connection with various overseas garrisons in different parts o£ the world. In addition every naval ship of any size lias ita canteen conducted by the Naval Canteen Service, which is the title of the naval branch of the service known as the 'Naffy.' Not only that. We send floating canteens, out to such of His Majesty's'ships as have no room for a canteen on board. The institutes in the United Kingdom are divided into groups with a ' district manager in charge of each group. Each group has also a restaurant superintendent selected from well educated women who have undergone a training in domestic science. They wear.a neat navy blue uniform with white silk shirt, black tie, and black tailored hat. The 'average staff of an institute consists of a manageress, charge hand, counter hand, cook, and kitchen hand. The manageress and cook are trained in the work required of them at the headquarters training centre on the premises of the Navy, Army, and Air Force Institutes in London, where there are lecture rooms ,and large kitchens with, modern equipment,'1 -■ : '■■■..■■'■.- •■■■ ■•■ .■, •