Working on the Home Front

Civil Defence workers often worked during air raids which was extremely dangerous and sometimes led to fatalities. In 1939, women joining knew little of what was to come and by 1941 many had faced traumatic experiences. Written in NCC’s Civil Defence committee minutes of September 1941, 17/6d was paid in expense to Mrs Ewbank of Whitley Bay in respect of the expense incurred by the death of her daughter, Doris Ewbank. (7). Doris is commemorated, today, in a memorial in Whitley Bay. She was a schoolteacher and ambulance driver for the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service who was killed when a bomb hit the
ambulance she was driving on 28th April 1941. What may be the most devastating detail of this story is that her death wasn’t widely reported at the time as it was feared that anxious female volunteers (influenced by their families) would withdraw from the ARP scheme (4).

Reported in the Shields Daily News after an air raid on Tyneside in October 1941, Mrs Isobel Ali, an air raid warden on duty in North Shields, “was buried in rubble but another warden and herself managed to get clear and assist in rescuing a family from a buried Anderson Shelter (15).” Across the Tyne in South Shields, the first air raid warden, a unknown woman, in that area was killed during the same air raid. (16).

Often women’s heroic effects during air raids went unrecognised. On the night of 3/4th May 1941, Mrs Ellen Lee, an air raid warden, saved the lives of 32 people when an air raid shelter was hit in North Shields. Of the 197 people in the shelter 107 died. While three other men on duty that night received the George Medal, Ellen received no official recognition until 2023 when a blue plaque was erected near the former site of the factory to commemorate her heroic effort on that night in 1941 (18).

While there was worry that women were reluctant to take on dangerous work – which some were – it is evidently clear that women were taking matters into their own hands and making their contributions without being asked. The women of Berwick were denied the opportunity to join the Local Defence Volunteers. So, they set up the Women’s Warden Corps in Tweedmouth in May 1940 to act as air raid wardens. A target of recruiting 50 women was set and 30 volunteers joined in just 2 days (5)(6).

Mary’s Story
Mary, from Westerhope, was an ambulance attendant during the Second World War. She remembers her first job in the ambulance depot involved both men and women working together. Later she was based in Cramlington and recalls they were sent to London to help during the blitz. She remembers how ‘hair-raising’ it was to hear the doodlebugs overhead; there would be a terrific noise but when it cut out the bomb would come down. When she was based at Newburn, during air raids, she had to make her way to Westerhope. The air raids and anti-aircraft guns nearby were quite loud. One night, when she was on duty
with her sister, the ambulance overturned at Hillhead Road. Mary’s sister was the only casualty, sustaining a broken shoulder. During her time in West Wickham, there was one air raid after another. After air raids, the men would go out to help with the demolition and clearing up, but the women weren’t allowed to help. She felt that her time in the ambulance service had broadened her life as she went away with work for months at a time and she had made a lot of friends. After the war she went to work in a post office but as the men returned home, they got their jobs back and she had to leave (2).

It must have been incredibly difficult for the thousands of women who returned to their old jobs after gaining so many skills, new experiences and memories. By around 1949, most had returned to their previous jobs (many were housewives) and it would be nearly two decades before women’s equality in the workplace was campaigned for and the Equal Pay Act was passed in 1970.

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 images used:

NRO 07023/2/1/14, NRO 07023/2/3/10 – 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

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

Ancient Egypt.

What images are conjured in your mind when you read those words? The pyramids?  Pharaohs?  Desert?  The Nile?  Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz defeating the cursed high priest Imhotep? Hercule Poirot onboard the steamer Karnak solving another murder. Or perhaps if you’re a fan of the MCU, Marc Spector or Steven Grant may have popped into your head, with a backdrop of the pyramid of Giza and the “silly old bird”! 

I’ve always held a fascination for ancient Egypt which never left me but rather became subsumed by everyday life and more modern history.  Recently I’ve let myself rediscover one of my first loves, and it has been a most rewarding experience. 

Now you may ask, what on earth would Northumberland Archives hold on Egypt?  I asked myself that very same question and began to dig, connecting the dots, leading me back to the traces of ancient Egypt that are held within the walls of our strongrooms. 

This blog will look at one of my first discoveries, a photograph album of a journey to Egypt. 

We hold the collection of the Carr-Ellison family of Hedgeley, near Powburn, and the photograph album – seen above – is from that collection.  It documents the journey of Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Henry Carr-Ellison and his wife, Alice, as they travelled to India in 1911.  Their travels took them through Egypt, where they stayed for almost three months, sailing down the River Nile to Khartoum. 

A journey of such distance was not unusual at this period.  Thomas Cook had popularised the Egyptian ‘package holiday’ in the late nineteenth century, and by Ralph and Alice’s journey in 1911, there was a well-worn path of visitor attractions to see.  Yet to have a photograph album almost exclusively made up of personal rather than professionally produced photographs is rare. 

The photographs within the album chart the couples’ journey, and many show the forms of transport used by locals and tourists’ alike –  

The album also shows the awe-inspiring monuments, sculptures and landscapes for which Egypt is famous for: 

By October 1911, the Carr-Ellison’s adventures in Egypt were over, as they headed to Ceylon [Sri Lanka], India and Burma [Myanmar], before returning to their home in London at the end of April 1912. 

This fascinating photograph album was the starting point on a journey to find Egypt within the strongrooms of Northumberland Archives.  I couldn’t wait to see where my journey led from here…