In the Second World War, in the face of the onslaught of fascist forces, Britain was forced
The recruitment program has been expanded several times.
After the Dunkirk evacuation, Britain, which had been undermanned, fell into a state of emergency with an urgent shortage of troops.
Almost all able-bodied men went to war
There are even thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds and sixty-somethings.
In such an embarrassing situation, a group of people supported the task of maintaining the normal operation of the soldiers, peasants, industrialists, and merchants from the bottom of the state to the armor.
They were women in World War II.
The female soldier in charge of the command to monitor
In the 1930s, the social roles of men and women were strictly demarcated.
It is not acceptable for men to work outside the home and for married women to work outside the home.
The Second World War was a defining moment in the history of modern women, as women moved out of the family and into thousands of jobs. Many people think that at that time, it was only men who fought wars, and women who did auxiliary work such as secretaries and clerical work.
But a recently released set of old photographs has taught us that this is not the case, and that British women during World War II were not just clerks sitting at the typewriter.
Female rescue teams are working on best practices
They formed the Women's Army and the Royal Women's Navy and went to the battlefield.
Under the bombardment of Nazi fighter jets, detect the position of enemy aircraft, operate anti-aircraft guns, searchlights, flying cars and even parachute to the front line to rescue the wounded.
Female Army
Air Force Scout
Women are being trained in the Air Force
Even Elizabeth II, who was still a princess at the time, also volunteered to join the Army as a mechanic.
Queen in military uniform
whereas
Factories and armaments factories are more women's world
, they assembled shells and fighter jets in bomb shelters.
Female drivers in charge of transporting ammunition
A female worker assembling ammunition in a secret munitions factory
Building railways, building ships, and driving buses, jobs that had previously been impossible for women to participate in were taken over by them.
And it turns out that women are also fully qualified for these rough jobs.
"After our training, we quickly got used to the heavy lifting, such as how to modify the tunnels and mine the coal. At that time, there was no use of mechanical devices, and each step was carried out by hand. ”
Soon, in metallurgy, chemical industry, and automobiles, women in shipbuilding accounted for one-third of the total labor force.
The British Air Transport Assistant (ATA) is a special agency for the Royal Air Force and the place where female pilots have appeared for the first time ever in the UK.
AtA's female pilots
ATA female pilot
In addition to being responsible for airdropping supplies and ambulances, they transport military aircraft. Flying through garrisons and battlefields almost day and night, sending newly built or repaired fighters to the battlefield as quickly as possible, leaving no respite for the enemy.
ATA's most recognizable female pilot, Amy Johnson
Civil defence in wartime is important, not just to protect evacuated civilians, to rescue the wounded in airstrikes, and to distribute food and clothing.
Mobile canteen organized by WVS
Because the wartime government department was likely to be spied on by the enemy, the girls, who belonged to the Women's Volunteer Service (WVS), rode on heavy motorcycles through the smoke-filled and bombed streets of London.
Set up a "courier team" to deliver classified information and instructions to wartime governments.
Staff of the Messenger Team
They distribute relief food, escort babies and the elderly, recycle garbage, carry explosives, and repair cars that rush out of bomb shelters to save people.
WVS members transport tires
WVS members help recycle garbage for wartime resource reuse
In addition to the visible heroes, there are many invisible heroines.
They were MI5's secret agents, piloting civil aviation planes, ambulances or disguised as ordinary people infiltrating German-occupied areas to spy on intelligence.
Their jobs are extremely dangerous, and if they make a small mistake, they can be captured, tortured or even buried.
In this war, each girl has a different social background:
They were royalty aristocrats, socialites, ski instructors, ballet dancers, a mother, a grandmother, mathematicians, architects, typists, and so on.
But when the alarm bells rang, each of the 7 million British women who threw themselves into wartime careers deserved to be called warriors.
Image source: BBC
In fact, many women who played an important role in World War II were dismissed after the war and asked to give way to men.
Their stories have been dusted off in photographs for many years, while they are still fighting for the rights and pay of women after the war.
They should not be forgotten or underestimated.
Wander the streets of what is now London and gaze at the solemn World War II Women's Monument in front of Whitehall, where 17 uniforms representing different professions are forever frozen in bronze.
As if to remind everyone:
Girls don't give up, they can do it!
A World War II Women's Monument in London