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Ok this we are going to look at the brave and strong women who decided to join
the military during the second world war.
Three of the organisations that put these women into uniforms were The
Land Army, The National Emergency Services (NES) and the Australian Women’s Army
(AWAS).
The Land Army was voluntary group where women worked on farms,
performing tasks like milking cows, harvesting crops, and tending livestock, to
maintain food production while men were fighting overseas.
The AWAS was an official military unit within the Australian
Army where women could enlist to serve in roles like driving, clerical work,
communications, and even some combat support positions.
The Australian Women's Army Service (AWAS) was formed in
August 1941 to release men from some military duties to serve with
fighting units. Women worked in traditional roles such as clerks, typists and
cooks.
The NES was a general term for civilian volunteer organizations
that provide support during emergencies like fire, flood, or medical crises,
not specifically related to wartime service
There was a network of searchlights
and listening posts that formed part of Newcastle’s defences were largely
operated by women. These women were carefully selected for good eyesight and
hearing as they would be on high alert lookout for the distant hum of aircraft
engines.
They also had to maintain the
searchlights in a high state of readiness, constantly polishing the lights and
greasing their mechanisms. The searchlights batteries were connected by
telephone to headquarters and each battery had a command post with a plotting board
to track the positions and courses of aircraft.
Some of the hardships the women had
to deal with things like having to bunk down in unlined shed in the bush, they
were given hessians bags and a pile of straw to make their mattresses. They also
had to shower under a modified kerosene tin full of water. Just because they
were women didn’t mean they got an easy ride, they had route marches with full
packs and training with live ammunition on .303 rifles, bren and Thompson guns.
The Australian Women's Army Service
served in New Guinea during World War II, making it the only non-medical
women's service to serve overseas during the war.
The Land Army and the AWAS were
both disbanded shortly after the end of World War II, between 1945 and 1947.
When my mum was at Melbourne University in the 1940s, she decided to join the war effort. WW2 meant the need for explosives went up and although she knew nothing about military equipment, she went to work at the Defence Factory in Maribyrnong with a large number of other women.
ReplyDeleteI assumed the men would be laughing, but specific facilities were built for women at the factory.
They did a great job those women.
ReplyDelete