Observations

Northern Advocate, 15 July 1939, Page 1 (Supplement)

Observations

J"N view of the steps which women in Whangarei and district are taking to prepare themselves to meet any emergency in the event of war which may occur, it is interesting to know what women in Great Britain have done and are doing with the same objective in view.

a year ago a mandate was given to Mr Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary for War, to raise a force of 20,000 women, to be trained in peace time for the purpose of taking over noncombatant duties in the event of mobilisation.

QRIGINALLY intended as a part of the Territorial Army, the scheme grew to include the regular forces of the Navy, Army and Air Force.

rpHE duties undertaken by the new force covered most noncombatant activities which are normally undertaken by men, such as car driving, typing and cooking. The corps is officered by women and is recruited and organised by the various defence

by “The Man on the Look-Out”

departments in co-operation with the local Territorial Association. POR the Admiralty, organisation has been undertaken by a revived Women’s Royal Naval Service, a body which was formed in 1918 and since disbanded.

JQURING the time of its service, naval women, clad in a neat kit of dark blue with brass buttons and round sailor caps did work in relieving men for active service.

UNDER the Humber Defence Command, they undertook the duties of mechanics in cleaning and oiling torpedoes and making anti-submarine nets. In Battersea, at the experimental workshops, they undertook the drawings and tracings of all kinds of new machines and guns.

J>ECENTLY, a poster called upon women to volunteer for the work of nursing auxiliaries in a Civil Nursing Reserve. One hundred thousand women are wanted, it is said, to serve in war time in emergency hospitals, in attending to those people who are evacuated from the cities, and in manning first-aid posts. A short-term training has been arranged and uniforms will be issued —a light blue over-

all bearing the letters N.A. F OR work on the land no special training has as yet been arranged, although some 6000 women have already enrolled in the Women’s Land Army which has been formed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

jQURING the last war, women in Britain did vital service on the land. In 1918, some 16,000 of them were employed on full-time work, while a further 300,000 were giving part-time assistance in one way and another. Mobility is one of the main demands that the Ministry makes of them now. Field workers, workers with livestock, dairy workers will be in request, together with young people capable of carrying hay, lifting potatoes, driving and repairing tractors.

A RECENT conference called by the Women’s Freedom League insisted that immediate training is needed if the full power of women is to be made available to the country in wartime.

JT is the same belief that is moving the women of Whangarei and district to take steps to prepare themselves to render ■ service in time of emei’gency. More power to them.