Author, Jane Lark's stories

It is often the case that people in modern times think they were the first to use a phrase, but “Women Power” was all over newspaper headlines in 1942.

The British government changed the conscription laws in December 1941, meaning that more men were called to the frontlines abroad and that women were called up to compulsory service. Service in the Land Army, the women’s air force, navy, army, in other public roles and even in catering. If you were between 20 and 31 years of age, the Ministry of Labour Exchange had to approve your current work or allocate you to a role.

British woman in Great Britain, whether married or single, had to attend a local office of the Ministry of Labour on the day that their age group was called up and give certain facts. Those who did not have children at home under 14, were interviewed and allocated an appropriate “compulsory” role. This process began on 7^th February, 1942.

At this time, women were asked to do many things that had been considered too difficult for women over the years, and the government and industry celebrated the female role in the production that not only kept the British Isles running but built the equipment that would result in the success of the land invasions that lead to the Allies winning World War II.

By the end of 1942, 16,000 women were employed by the Great Western Railway, replacing the 13,000 men in service and undertaking new roles to fulfil orders from the Ministries of Transport and Supply.

Last week I wrote about the men who returned from Dunkirk and what happened after they disembarked at Dover, but obviously one of the important things for my story, which is about women working in the Great Western Railway factory in Swindon, is to find out about what they knew and heard and the emotional situation for those at home. What were the things that impacted the women in their homes and workplaces after France was invaded, and after the men returned?

When I read the GWR staff magazine articles, personal accounts of the time, and the local paper articles for that period, firstly what came across was the anxiety people felt when Germany invaded France. Throughout the weeks the German army raced across France, emotions and fear ran particularly high in the UK. Before that, many people had thought the war would not progress, many had been calling it phoney and a load of old nonsense, for months. Then suddenly the Allied forces were losing, people’s husbands, fathers, brothers, sons, friends and boyfriends were dying and there was nothing the army could do to stop the Germans.

The hope of saving France was so slight, The King announced a day of prayer and people who never normally prayed queued in their thousands outside churches to pray for peace. Then Churchill declared the retreat and evacuation of the Allied forces…

View the 1940 Pathe film about the British Commonwealth’s National Day of Prayer

What could have been a concerning situation became joyful. The people at home were as jubilant as though the men had won the war when they saw them returning safely, even though it meant they had lost France to Hitler.

The excitement and jubilation, after days of fear, meant people broke rules to express their joy. Do you remember how bare the shop shelves were at one point at the beginning of the COVID lock down. Well people described shelves like that, with nothing left, as everything was being handed to the men on the trains. It’s nice to think that in 1940 shelves were emptied by selflessness, remembering the food was rationed so the selves were not restocked for weeks and people went without the things they gave to soldiers.

In the end, I found out about so many intense situations and events in May, June and July in 1940, the second novel in The Great Western Railway Girls, when they Do Their Bit, ended up only covering these three months because I didn’t want to leave out a single event or aspect of the experiences of the women through this period of World War Two in Swindon.

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