History Teacher Notes The Literacy Key

Search on www.literacykey.co.uk for the finest primary school resources available.

HOMEPAGE    HISTORY    GEOGRAPHY    R.E.

World War II - Women at War

1. Before the war a woman’s place was considered to be in the home.

2. Women were expected to be good housewives and mothers who could cook, clean, knit and sew.

3. When men were sent to war, women were needed to fill men’s jobs.

4. Working often gave women confidence and a sense of purpose.

5. Women enjoyed the company, the pay and the fact that they were doing something towards the war effort.

6. Women became mechanics, engineers and bus conductors.

7. Some women worked in factories making bombs, aircraft parts and guns.

8. Some women became Air-Raid Wardens.

9. Many women joined the Women’s Land Army to keep farms working and produce food.

10. They looked after animals and helped with threshing, ploughing, milking and lambing.

11. The Auxiliary Territorial Service was the women’s section of the army.

12. Women were given a uniform and became cooks, translators, telephonists, motorbike messengers and drivers.

13. Some women joined the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.

14. They were trained as pilots so they could move aircraft around the country and made parachutes.

15. They also became electricians and mechanics, interpreted photographs and plotted information from radar.

16. Some women joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service.

17. They loaded torpedoes onto submarines, plotted battles, worked in Operations Rooms or became signallers.

18. Some women chose to go into nursing.

19. The Women’s Voluntary Service did a very important job.

20. They provided refreshments after bombing raids and looked after people who had lost their homes in raids.

21. They also collected scrap metal and warm clothing for service men.

22. Some women were used as secret agents in the Special Operations Executive and were parachuted into France.

23. Their work was very dangerous, as one slip could lead to them being captured, tortured and killed by the Germans.