WOMEN IN ARMY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 19 August 1941, Page 4

WOMEN IN ARMY

PRELIMINARY BEING PREPARED I I ! MEN \\ l!<> ( Ol El) lil RETLAt I I) The po ibilitie of utill in . vonu in the Army on the same lines as the Auxiliary Territorial Service in England are being explored. As a preliminary, a return is being made of the number of grade 1 and grade 2 men being used in static establishments such | as permanent camps, fortress areas and headquarters, on such duties as might, be usefully undertaken by women. These include motor transport driver-. of work where women could be* used. The report is only a preliminary one and it i- understood that much depends on what it discloses about the numbers of grade 1 men now employed in the duties enumerated who could be made available for overseas service Also to be taken into account is the percentage of these men who are liable for military service by reason of their reserve status either immediately or in the comparatively near future. Any further exploration of the question is unlikely till full information on the manpower release probable by the employment of women is available. Assuming this to be of a size making replacement by women worthwile. the question of the establishment of an Auxiliary Territorial Service of females will then be gone into. One of the major problems, then, apart from matters relating to the establishment and status or such a service, would be ac - commodation. It is understood that the report mentioned has been called for at the request of Lieut -General Sir Guy Williams. military adviser to the New Zealand Government. When he arrived in New Zealand in June, General Williams stated in regard to the work of women’s war organisations in Britain that "their services are being fully exploited. particularly in taking the places of men who can be released for active service In the army there are many avenues in which women can be usefully employed and they are doing great work We are using them in the offices, in the cookhouses, as car and ambulance drivers and telephone operators. and in many cases they are better than men " AIR FORTE PRECEDENT Hundreds of women are already being used successfully as members of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Service at various air stations, the scheme having worked so well that it is being greatly expanded. Throughout New Zealand there are thousands of women who have been receiving training for periods of at least :i year and more in many avenues which would fit them for rapid assimilation into various \vpes of army duties. Large numbers have been trained in transport driving and further qualified by securing heavy vehicle driving licenses. In Auckland and Wellington they have done particularly good work, which has been comnv nded by the Army authorities. in the transport of sick and wounded soldiers from hospital ships to hospitals, trains, ships and private destinations These assignments are, however, infrequent. and most of the women after the lengthy training they have received are impatient to be doing a full-time war job. This applies in particular to women who do not follow any occupation Tho formation of an A TS. for the army in New Zealand would be a welcome outlet for the energies of these women, and relieve that sense of impatience that is always likely to arise after a long period of training for duties that may. without such an organisation as the A.T.S., never be allotted to them. Many women in the Women's War Service Auxiliary, Red Cross transport services .and other voluntary organisations are well equipped by reason of their civil occupation, and volunteer training to fit in for such jobs as clerks, orderlies, drivers, and similar light duties. A good deal of printed and illustrated matter has been published in the New Zealand Press of the scope of war work done by women in Great Britain as part of proper services perronnel. This has tended to create an even keener desire by women doing voluntary training in non-services organisations to be given a chance to plav tho same part in the war effort as ‘their kinsfolk overseas It is apparent from the remarks made by Lieut-Genera! Williams when he first arrived in New Zealand that he is an enthusiast for the employment of women wherever it is possible for them to release men for active service, and thus ensure that the maximum manpower of the country is placed in the field. A matter which will, however, probably be taken into consideration, is the manpower which becomes available tor light army duties on the return at intervals of invalided men from the theatres of war whose state of health permits their retention fer home service A good number of men returned from overseas have been thu: utilised