Description
Object description
British NCO and officer with Women's Auxiliary Army Corps attached to Royal Flying Corps and Women's Royal Air Force in GB, 1917-1918; served as District Superintendent with St John's Ambulance Brigade in Falmouth, GB, 1939-1945
Content description
REEL 1 Background in GB, 1900-1917: family; education; outbreak of First World War, 4/8/1914; impact of war on life; arrival of Australian and New Zealand troops in area; attitude towards First World War; war news and attitude towards deaths of young men on active service. Recollections of period as NCO and officer with Women's Auxiliary Army Corps attached to Royal Flying Corps and Women's Royal Air Force in GB, 1917-1919: volunteering for Women's Auxiliary Army Corps; clerical duties in Royal Flying Corps administrative department at Westbury; promotion to chief section leader; duties; Armistice celebrations, 11/11/1918; uniform worn.
REEL 2 Continues: attitude of family towards her joining Women's Auxiliary Army Corps; public attitude towards women in uniform; duties; relations between men and women at Westbury; contrast in attitudes towards sex during First and Second World Wars; question of whether women were recognised for role during First World War; impact of First World War on womens' lives. Aspects of civilian life in GB and France, 1919-1939: catering training; catering work in Nice, France; travelling around Europe; marriage, 1931. Recollections of period as District Superintendent with St John's Ambulance Brigade in Falmouth, GB, 9/1939-5/1945: reaction to outbreak of Second World War, 3/9/1939; difficulties of obtaining volunteers; duties as district superintendent.
REEL 3 Continues: blackout; first aid training with St John's Ambulance Brigade; duties with St John's Ambulance Brigade; witnessing bombing of Falmouth Docks; aiding refugees arriving from France, 1940; story of post-war organisation of blood donor unit in Falmouth; relations between St John's Ambulance Brigade and British Red Cross Society; contrast between British Red Cross Society and St John's Ambulance Brigade; public attitude towards voluntary work; rations; question of co-operation between neighbours and friends.
REEL 4 Continues: impact of First World War on her life; attitude towards Prime Minister Winston Churchill; concentration of troops in Falmouth area for invasion of Normandy, France, 1944; memories of boats leaving for and returning from Dunkirk, France, 5/1940-6/1940; end of Second World War, 1945; change in attitudes towards sex during Second World War, attitude towards work of St John's Ambulance Brigade and Women's Voluntary Service during Second World War; attitude towards life, 1991.