The Womans Part: A Record of Munitions Work

Altri titoli da considerare

The Ministry of Munitions was formed in May , with Lloyd George taking over the responsibility of the newly-formed department, replacing Lord Kitchener. By November , employment for women began to rise again as they found work as clerical or shop assistants. These opportunities had opened up to them before the war but this was an area of expansion as many initial army volunteers came from these sectors.

Ironically, the engineering industry was slow to require replacement manpower.

• The woman's part; a record of munitions work,;
• Stealing Megans Husband (Erotica Menage Unlimited).
• Nothing without Labour.
• The Woman's Part - A Record of Munitions Work (Paperback).

The dichotomy of requiring munitions on hand one, while also needed men to fight on the other, meant that women became to be seen as a solution. Pankhurst organized the 'Right to Serve' march, demanding that women be involved in the war effort. The creation of the Women's War Register, established following this march, allowed women to express their desire to work mainly in munitions. Following this, the Government and the Unions agreed to a process of Dilution. Dilution allowed skilled work to be broken down into various less skilled jobs, justifying the lower wages paid to the women and appeasing concerns of skilled men who thought they would be priced out of employment by cheaper competition.

Dilution was thus considered a policy of Union appeasement, allowing it to be eventually accepted by industrialists and the unions. Consequently, as the number of men volunteering began to affect the national infrastructure and the ability of companies to manufacture or to continue with the services they provided, the number of women began to grow in the workplace.

It seems that the Government manipulated figures at the beginning of the war to encourage other manufacturers to employ women, thus freeing men to fight; but, by the end of the war, they did not want claims of equal money from women for the work they had done stepping in for the men. Hence, the figures were exaggerated at the beginning and vice versa towards the end when demand for armaments was diminishing. Munitions Workers in the Great War , that a survey, possibly carried out in when women were beginning to be replaced by the returning soldiers, calculated that of the total number of women questioned, twenty-five hundred of them preferred to stay in their wartime factories and not return to their pre-war roles.

There was a great deal of unrest about their introduction into what the men considered their skilled bastion. This ex-munitions worker conveys the hard work, monotony, long hours, and constant struggle against the elements with great passion.

Writing of her time at the London and Scottish Engineering Company, she details how the man who worked her machine during the day would remove the light bulb and other inconvenient ploys to make her shift the more difficult. In her memoir, Hamilton writes defensively of the economic and physical hardships suffered.

Then there would have been considerations for rent and travel, family responsibilities, food, and clothing. Middle-class supervisors received higher wages than those who worked the machines, whilst women working in the filling shops, working with the T. At the height of munitions production in , almost 1,, women were involved in some part of the national munitions manufacturing process; yet, despite this consequential number, no in-depth analysis of their uniform has been undertaken. Paradoxically, uniformity is not essential to the uniform. He also writes that there is an implicit assumption that there are values embedded within the uniform that will be taken on by the wearer.

Account Options

This is an important point when looking at the stylized representations of munitions women where their femininity has been exaggerated within in the vast industrialised setting of a previously male-dominated work place. However, to suggest that women had any agency over the design and wearing of these working clothes is misleading. The actual uniform was not viewed as a success by the workers themselves: Peggy Hamilton, a middle class munitions worker, wrote in her autobiography that:. We in the toolroom were given thick, voluminous cotton overalls with caps to match.

The overalls were hot and bulky and tied round the waist with anything we could find.

The Woman's Part: A Record of Munitions Work by L. K. Yates - Free Ebook

We looked like a bunch of old rags…I have no doubt that the Welfare Department did a very good job under difficult and frustrating conditions. It was staffed by people largely unaccustomed to work, who were being asked to design clothes for women doing work that their sex had never performed before. Uniforms, according to his reasoning, are such because they incorporate an insignia legitimised by the state. His argument that civilians change out of their day-to-day clothing into another form of clothing to carry out their work is another way in which he qualifies occupational clothing. Joseph sees a clear distinction between uniform and occupational clothing: It is also evident that uniforms were specifically commissioned from established ready-to-wear factories.

Cover of "How to Dress for Munition Making" and inside of brochure detailing fabric and costs. Six branches of the ministry required clothing: Only four entered into the scheme the last two felt that they had first-hand knowledge of the dangers of the chemicals used and the protection required.

Nevertheless it seems that as late as the 10th May, , when, in a letter to Lord Rothermere, a Mr S Addison writes that the uniforms were still in the experimental stage, that there was no standardised design and that only small quantities were ordered at any given time. Still from British Pathe film showing a woman munitions worker wearing a striped blouse whilst packing cartridges. Information found in Tin 41 which British Pathe attribute possibly to but could be later.

I suspect that these companies were also producing uniforms for the services, hence the abundance of khaki coloured material, but I have no evidence to corroborate this theory.

• Product details.
• The Book of Gold (Le Livre d’Or) - 17th Century Book of Spells, Charms & Magic using the Biblical Psalms of David?
• The Singer: Historical Hollywood Erotica, Adult Nightclub Romance, 1930s.

There are no surviving purchase orders, receipts or invoices pertaining to the ordering of the uniforms, as in the case of the Land army, and it seems records may have been kept by the Lady Supervisors as in the case of Miss E. Wagstaff, supervisor of the Newport National Shell Factory in which she writes that: On looking at the photographs different tones of the fabric can be seen and it seems that the trousers may have been made to a standard pattern hence the differing lengths fig.

Detail of photographs showing varying fabrics and lengths of the trousers. Other photographs indicate laces tied tightly around the legs fig.

Photograph of Harsleden munitions workers' trousers tied with string. Colour was also important in order to depict the rank of a worker as described by Elsie McIntyre who worked at the Barnbow Factory, Leeds: As you got made an overlooker you were wearing a chocolate brown tunic with a green belt and green collar and trousers.

Some believed that femininity and the female sex had to maintain certain characteristics and that any destabilisation of this role would lead to promiscuity; as such the uniform had to be seen as a temporary utilitarian garment essential in the unusual circumstances of war. The women had to remove all trappings of femininity like hairpins and corsets before commencing work in the factory.

Unisciti a Kobo e inizia a leggere oggi stesso

K Foxwell writes extensively and romantically on how the women tried to feminize their uniforms firstly with flowers, then brightly coloured ribbons and even stockings and high-heeled shoes. Wagstaff, Supervisor at the Mile End factory clearly commented that: A sewing room was provided where all overalls, etc. Photograph showing a munitions worker having danergous chemicals 'hoovered' off her uniform. Cite this Email this Add to favourites Print this page.

Catalogue Persistent Identifier https: You must be logged in to Tag Records.

• E in mezzo il fiume: A piedi nei due centri di Roma (Contromano) (Italian Edition).
• Gestión y liderazgo en una empresa de seguros (Spanish Edition)?
• Works or Ergon(meaning works or toils or acts) in relation to the gospel of salvation in the New Testament Scriptures!

In the Library Request this item to view in the Library's reading rooms using your library card. Details Collect From Electronic resource Use 'Online Resources' link in record Available for document delivery - standard copyright restrictions apply. Order a copy Copyright or permission restrictions may apply. We will contact you if necessary. To learn more about Copies Direct watch this short online video.

How do I find a book? Can I borrow this item? Can I get a copy? Can I view this online? Similar Items Naming the system: Members of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and Maori communities are advised that this catalogue contains names and images of deceased people. Book , Online , Online - Google Books. Army -- Ordnance and ordnance stores. Weapons industry -- Employees.