The Battle of Britain

Women's War Work during the First World War

Female munitions workers, 1917; Female munitions workers at the National Filling Factory, Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, c. July 1917

Female munitions workers, 1917

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Female munitions workers at the National Filling Factory, Chilwell, Nottinghamshire, c. July 1917

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When war broke out in 1914 there were many women in the workforce but many jobs and professions were closed to them. Before the war most women’s work tended to fall into traditional female categories such as social work, nursing, teaching,...

When war broke out in 1914 there were many women in the workforce but many jobs and professions were closed to them. Before the war most women’s work tended to fall into traditional female categories such as social work, nursing, teaching, dressmaking, secretarial work and domestic service. It was deemed unacceptable for married women to work.

The outbreak of war in 1914 saw a huge demand for production of military materiel, a need which escalated as the scale and the duration of the war increased. With so many men called to the fighting fronts, women were recognised as a valuable resource to maintain vital war industries, and they demanded to be allowed to play their part. Soon women were employed in an array of different jobs.

Women’s vital contribution to the war effort was recognised across society, with David Lloyd George, later the Prime Minister, saying in July 1915, 'Without women, victory will tarry'. By the armistice in 1918, over 80,000 women had volunteered for war service. More than 100,000 others had served as nurses, 113,000 worked on the land, 900,000 in munitions factories and 117,000 in transport services.

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