NEW ZEALAND WOMEN AND THE WAR

New Zealand Listener, Volume 3, Issue 78, 20 December 1940, Page 42

NEW ZEALAND WOMEN AND THE WAR

N New Zealand as elsewhere in the Empire, the roll call sounds: "Women’s War Service Auxiliary! Fall in!" Gone are the days when women ‘sat inactively at home while their menfolk went to war. To-day the women of the British Empire are standing shoulder to shoulder with their men-fighting the battle on the home front. In England a girl is looked at askance if she does not wear one of the numerous uniforms of the Voluntary Help Forces. It takes a good memory to enumerate them, the WVS, WAAF, MTC, ARP; AFS, WRNS, WATS-and many more. One of the most distinguished for heroic service. in the: aerial war over Britain are the WAFS-the women of the Fire’Service. They are fighting the’ battle of Britain as surely as any soldier or any air-bird of the skies. ‘United In: One Body Here in New Zealand’ women are united.in one great body-the’ Women’s War Service Auxiliary." Organised a bare few months back by ‘a group of keen war workers the, Auxiliary has’ grown to formidable proportions. With the organising headquarters in Well‘ington, there are 16 other Branches’ al-~ ready operating throughout the Domin-~ ion-as far north as Whangarei and Dargaville and south to Invercargill. The WWSA is on the march! How &plendid is the response only those behind it know. On all sides women are coming forward quietly, unobtrusively, asking to play their part. In doing so, many of them are making sacrifices. They are giving up cheerfully their few leisure hours; they are putting their sports and their amusement aside for the graver task. In England, the active theatre of war, there is present a compelling force that urges women to the fighting line. Here, war relatively is but a dim echo. It exists for us mainly in newspaper head-lines-in a. splash of khaki on the streets. We read, we listen, but the actual horror of it is remote from’ us. Our skies are blessedly clear. Life goes on its normal, leisured round. ... Yet the women are coming forward in their eager numbers, knowing that this. war of Britain’s is their own. Behind the Scenes Let us take a peep at the Women’s War Service Auxiliary in action. At the Technical College, an engineering workshop wears an unusual and flustered air. Around the working models -cylinders, gear-boxes, generators. and. pistons-groups of girls are clustered.. They belong to the Transport Group.

They look exceedingly workmanlike in their blue boiler suits. In one corner an inquiring group of heads is lost within the raised. bonnet of a car. Others are busy operating an electrical generating plant. A few are delving: into the intricacies of a gearbox, All are keen. .The object of their training is to equip them with the working knowledge of cars, The Cooking Class Across the way, the Cooking Class is in full swing. A wave of heat and a pleasant odour of cooking meet you as you pass into the long, high-ceilinged room. Around the walls electric and gas stoves are interspersed with wash sinks. In the middle of the room are the mixing tables where a crowd of women are at work preparing various dishes. Some are removing pots from the stoves-others are rescuing finished dishes. A few are poring over recipe books. There is plenty of variety among’ the meats, soups, fish and sweets. Many of the dishes find their way to the cafeteria. The Laundry Girls Further along the corridor feminine voices sound against a background of splashing and running taps. The laundry girls are in action. Cheerfully, with determined faces, they bend over washtub, wringer, and ironing table. The good old methods are taught here. Emergency does not cater for electric washers. Everything is washed by hand, rinsed and blued. Here good housewives are in the making. The Canteen and Clerical Groups also discover an array of promising housewives. Any Sunday morning, if you slip into the Y.W.C.A. you will find

these girls busy preparing and serving breakfast for the soldiers who are accommodated in the city during the week-end. Nurses And Signallers In another hall, the Hospital Emergency Group is mastering the principles of First Aid. They are the Florence Nightingales; hands that are dedicated to the mission of healing and soothing. Nearby the Signallers are at work. Here competition is keen. Two hundred girls with blue striped flags upraised -each one anxious to do the best. From their numbers will be picked the Group Leaders, The Cycling Group is already 40 strong-keen on their job-already planning cycling week-ends in which to reach a greater proficiency. The Land Girls mean business, too, Any Saturday afternoon, if you wander past a patch of municipal park, you will find a crowd of girls busy above their gardens. All kinds of vegetables are grown and already, in a few short weeks, green tops are showing above the earth. The gardeners watch their progress with possessive pride. The beds are immaculately kept. Weeds dare not show a face. Physical culture drill is for all branches of the Auxiliary. Workers must be fit. That is the foundation off which successful results are built. Uniforms Being Prepared Uniforms are in process of preparation. A neat khaki coat-frock with patch pockets, a leather belt and a tie. Different types of military caps will be worn with them. Soon these uniforms will (Continued on next page)

NEW ZEALAND WOMEN AND THE WAR (Continued from prtevious page) be a familiar sight on our streets. The girls eagerly await their appearance. You can’t be a real soldier without a uniform, they say. So the WWSA has made its first great stride forward. New Zealand has every reason to be proud of its womenfolk. New Zealand soldiers, fighting overseas, will share in that pride. These women are their sisters, their wives, their mothers and sweethearts, rallying behind them to the same cause. They do not stand alone.