In anticipation of the Second World War, the Air Raid Precautions (ARP) was formed in 1938. As the war progressed, more women joined the service as fire watchers, wardens and ambulance drivers/attendants. In December 1941 the second National Service Act was passed in parliament, making the conscription of single or widowed women aged 20-30 legal (1). They could serve in several services/industries and one of them was the Civil Defence (as it was later renamed from ARP in 1941).
Later in the war, the conscription age was extended to 19 – 50 and by mid-1943, almost 90 per cent of single women and 80 per cent of married women were employed in essential work for the war effort across the country (1). Most research on women’s stories from this era has only been done in recent years – in 2005, a monument to the women of the Second World War was erected in Whitehall, London to remember those that served on the home front.
Women’s experiences in the Civil Defence
The ARP Headquarters of Northumberland were in Morpeth, co-ordinating the local activities of the Civil Defence throughout the war (3). In Northumberland County Council’s (NCC) Civil Defence committee minutes from September 1939, it stated men would be paid £3 and women paid £2 per week. This difference in pay was highlighted in the Shields Daily News from February 1942, stating ‘Mr Morrison said the women had a wage of £2 7s as against the men’s wage of £3 10s, and he took the view that that was rather severe discrimination (11).’
Inequality of pay was not the only issue faced by women of the Civil Defence; they faced judgement about how well they would replace men’s jobs. As frustrating as it must have been it was clear women were trying their hardest despite the uncertainty they faced in their new roles. In the Newcastle Journal from August 1942, a report from parliamentary secretary, Ellen Wilkinson, reflected on women as fire guards – ‘Women of Britain would do their compulsory job of fire watching with no fuss, no heroics, just a job to be done and no hesitation about it.’ While the article is, overall, vague about commending women and expressing concern for women working in male environments she does say, “After this war, there will be millions of children who’ll ask – ‘What did you do in the Great War mummy?’ – or for that matter ‘grannie.’ “It’ll be pleasant to be able to say –‘Oh, nothing much, I just helped to beat the Luftwaffe.’” (8). In a more subtle message to women this last quote implies women will know their own victories after the war.
Not only were women under scrutiny to meet the demands of their work, but they were also met with criticism about their appearance. This recruitment poster (from IWM’s collection) shows an ambulance driver looking ‘made-up.’ Despite makeup being discouraged in the services they were, confusingly, encouraged to wear ‘natural makeup’ to boost morale (for the men).
Emphasis on the uniform is an important detail to this poster as well. In an article from the Blyth News, women expressed their verdict on the new ARP uniforms (featured in the poster) introduced in April 1940 involving a wrap-over overall with pockets to hold necessities and a felt hat with ribbon – they said, “we expected that our uniforms would be efficient but unbecoming, instead of which they are both neat and becoming (17).” It’s clear that these women joined without the uniform in mind but were pleasantly surprised by both the smartness and practicality of it. In a news report from the Shields Daily News in July 1941, it was stated that ‘Women’s [Civil Defence] uniform will be blue serge with either skirt or trousers as the local authority may decide (12),’ implying local authorities seem to have taken away their female employees choice between skirts and the practicality of trousers. In the image of Linda, an ambulance driver, she is seen wearing her wrap-over with a pair of ‘slacks’ compared to her colleague who wears a skirt.
Women’s trousers were still a very new fashion at the time with older and younger generations having varying perspectives on them. From the Shields Daily News in October 1940, Women’s Diary by Jane Percy reported ‘It is suggested by some of the younger women that the slacks might become popular for everyday wear, but I personally doubt it. For air-raid shelters or over sport wear they are splendid and women on national defence work [Civil Defence] have nothing but praise for their comfort, but there are still many middle-aged women who will never get used to the idea of wearing trousers (14).
Bibliography/references:
1 – Historic England Blog Women in the Workforce During the Second World War: Taking on Men’s Roles
2 – T/480 – Mary Pringle Oral History
3 – NRO 10442/4 – Northumberland Air Raid Precautions booklet
4 – South East Northumberland at War by Craig Armstrong, p48
5 – North Northumberland at War by Craig Armstrong, p39
6 – The Berwickshire News Victory Souvenir Issue, Tuesday May 15, 1945
7 – CC/D/ED/ARP – Minutes of Northumberland County Council’s Civil Defence Committee from 1939 – 1945
8 – Newcastle Journal and North Mail, Monday August 10 1942
9 – Blyth News Ashington Post, Thursday April 11 1940
10 – Blyth News Ashington Post, Thursday March 21 1940
11 – Shields Daily News, Thursday 26 February 1942
12 – Shields Daily News, Saturday 19 July 1941
13 – Blyth News, Monday 11 May 1942
14 – Shields Daily News, Monday 21 October 1940
15 – Shields Daily News, Wednesday 01 October 1941
16 – North East Diary 1939 – 1945 by Roy Ripley and Brian Pears
17 – Blyth News Ashington Post, Thursday April 11 1940
18 – https://northshields173.org/
Further information on image used: NRO 07023/2/1/8 – Linda Mccullough was an ambulance driver from c.1939-1942 before joining the ATS in October 1942. She was from Ashington and based in this area until she moved away with the ATS to Fenham Barracks
