AUXILIARY SERVICE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23619, 1 April 1940, Page 2

AUXILIARY SERVICE

WOMEN PLAY TIIEIR PART LARGE NUMBERS ENLISTING TYPES OF TRAINING AND DUTIES ["from OCR OWN corrhspondknt] LONDON, March 5 Important and useful work is being done by the Auxiliary Territorial Service, the only women's war service officially recognised and financed by the War Office. The main idea behind its organisation is to train women for all those army jobs at present occupied by men which women can fill with equal efficiency. The A.T.S. are never sent, except in very rare cases, into the front line. Almost all the women enlisting are already fully trained in the branch of service they will take up. Possible exceptions are scrubbers, waitresses :ind junior cooks, but many of these have had long experience in service in private homes. Owing to the course of the war so far the full strength of the A.T.S. has not yet been tested, and the future may reveal a far wider scope for its development. An afternoon spent in one of the largest training depots gave a very clear picture of the life these girls are leading. So far they are certainly not experiencing the rigours and hardships of "active service." High on south coast cliffs stands one of England's most modern and luxurious holiday hotels, now the home of 500 to 600 officers, cadets and recruits. Provision of Equipment

The War Office has taken over merely the empty shell of the building, and the A.T.S. liavo full use of those innumerable extra comforts that are demanded in a "luxury hotel." It is unlikely, however, that many training centres are equipped with central heating, automatic lifts, hot and cold water in the bedrooms and interior sprung - mattresses, to say nothing of the senior officers' luxury suites, which in peacetime bring in 15 guineas a week, and the incomparable free-for-all sea views. But these things apart, the recruits seem very adequately catered for. All their equipment is provided, with a generous allowance of four army blankets, and two complete sets of underwear for both winter and summer —not red flannel, either, but palo blues and pinks in soft wool and artificial silk. And, further, there is no ban on home comforts, such as hot water bottles and eiderdowns, but on active service, of course, each member must be able to carry all her own gear. Most in demand for the service are cooks, especially those endowed with vivid imaginations I Stenographers and teleprinters can be assured of jobs—in fact, the A.T.S. is prepared to train a typist in teleprinting, a training which incidentally, will be invaluable in seeking post-war employment. Clerks, accountants, waitresses, storewomen, motor drivers and even butchers are all needed. Language Specialists Butchers seem particularly rare, the only first-class one in the Director's knowledge being a slight little woman, who was formerly a West End milliner! Their work docs not" include killing, but simply cutting up the carcases supplied by the R.A.S.C. A recruit equally as rare is the draughtswoman and the kine-theodolite expert, and here again the authorities have found it necessary to train girls specially. The kine-theodolite work is a very recent branch, and the recruit must have a thorough grounding in photography. When she is fully trained she must be prepared to do particularly hazardous work,' such as working on sites for gun emplacements; consequently only recruits who pass a particularly severe medical test are accepted /There is not yet a demand for language specialists, mainly because the need has not arisen, but recruits with a knowledge of foreign languages are encouraged in their studies.