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Women at War

A group of WW1 women workers at an aeroplane factory in Birmingham (IWM neg Q 28186)
A group of women workers at an aeroplane factory in Birmingham, September 1918 (IWM neg Q 28186).
Women played a major role in both World Wars in many different capacities.

Anyone interested in tracing a woman who was active during the First World War may find information in the Women’s Work Collection. Already available commercially on microfilm, the collection is now available as a searchable web database (by paid subscription to Thomson Gale or free at point of access within the Museum).  Work with Belgian refugees, munitions, agriculture, benevolent organisations, education and nursing are among the subjects featured in this, as well as women serving with the Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.  If your relative died in the war or was awarded a decoration there is a chance you will find a photograph in the Collection.

This is an evolving section and new categories will be added in the future.

Women in the services

Women in the Army

Women in the Navy

Women in the Royal Air Force

 

 

 

Discovery Trail
Eve and Kit Dodsworth
Eve and Kit Dodsworth’s papers are held by the Imperial War Museum.  Using examples from these and other sources, we have been able to investigate their nursing service in the First World War.  Theirs is a real story, but you can read through this and adopt the same approach to find out about your own ancestors.