At the outbreak of the first world war, a great influx of brave men, young and old alike, enlisted to help fight the enemy. They went marching off to war in a smart,new uniform. A uniform that was made in a factory, by hand, well before huge machines to do it themselves were made. With many factories now making uniforms instead of the latest fashions, the people of Britain were encouraged to make do and mend. This was to be a campaign that would last throughout the war and be used again in the next war. Women were expected to mend worn out items time and time again as well as taking something old and making something new out of it.
But for those that bought or hired a seamstress to make up a dress seamed to follow a similar pattern. Gone were the long, narrow skirts, in their place was a skirt that was a whole 8 inches above the ground, that took a bell-like shape. This was a sign of the times, with many women taking on jobs that had previously been done by men. They needed to be able to move freely whilst doing manual work, not be restricted. The fuller skirt was seen as a waste of material by many,but not only was it more practical, but it also made a new war-time silhouette. The shorter skirt razed many eyebrows but needs must - the was a war on!
Also noticeably different was the colours and patterns. Less decorations could be seen on the dresses and they were made in drab colours unlike the previous bright and bold colours. This was due in most part to the lack of dyes available. It was seen, among the society ladies, as unpatriotic to have bright coloured dresses with feathers and beads as decoration and there are instances where a lady has been shunned by others due to the detail on her dress at a dinner.
In terms of design of dresses, they took on a military theme, with many of the dresses sporting epaulettes or gold shining buttons.This was also the birth of the trench coat, that, to this day is still hugely popular.
For the poor, they carried on wearing the same drab and worn clothes they had previously done as they couldn't afford to do anything else. Yet they still keep there Sunday best just for church each week!
By the end of the war, with women going back to the home, the style of dresses reverted almost back to how it was pre-war. The only difference, some of the dresses were a shorter, although not 8 inches shorter. The fashion of the time had changed with the women's lives throughout the war, depending on what they were doing. Women would have to wait until the 1920s flapper dress before they would see the much shorter styles again.
As promised here is part two of the stories of just some of the many heroines of the first world war.
On the 24th January 1862, Edith Wharton was born in New York City. Pre-war Edith had bought a apartment in Paris and at the outbreak of the first world war, she decided to move back to the apartment, situated on the Rue De Varenne. Here, Edith opened a sewing work room that would provide unemployed 'work-girls' meals & one franc in exchange for their work.
In the autumn of 1914, Paris became overrun with Belgian refugees after Germany had invaded Belgium. These people had nothing and no where to go. Edith again decided to help by setting up Hostels specifically for the refugees. Not only did it offer a place to stay, Edith also arranged meals and clothing and eventually started an employment agency in order to help the refugees find work.
Throughout the war, Edith worked tirelessly, supporting charities who helped refugees, the injured, the unemployed and the displaced. She even organised concerts which provided musicians with an income. On 18th April 1916, Edith was awarded a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour.
Edith worked hard to raise funds to help various charities. Most of the money received were donations sent over from the American people, who wanted to help with the war effort. Edith was able to raise tens of thousands of dollars, which enabled her to open tuberculosis hospitals after an the disease broke out in the trenches.
On the 9th August 1867 Evelina Haverfield was born in Kingussie in Scotland. A well known British Suffragette and aid worker, at the outbreak of the first world war, Evelina set up the Women's Emergency Corps. In 1915, Evelina joined Elsie Inglis and worked tirelessly helping the injuried in Serbia, until they were evacuated in 1917.
Flora Sandes was born on 22nd January 1876 in Yorkshire. In 1914, Flora volunteered to become a nurse but was turned down due to a lack of qualifications. Undeterred, she instead joined the St John's Ambulance and on the 12th August 1914 left for Serbia with thirty-six other women. Flora & Evelina decided to set up a fund for promoting comforts for Serbian soldiers and prisoners. This was carried on through the end of the war and beyond. In order to raise enough funds, Flora wrote a book by using her diaries to share her experiences.
During a difficult retreat back to the sea through Albania, Flora was separated from her unit and for her own safety & chance of being fed, she enrolled as a soldier with a Serbian regiment, where she was quickly promoted to Corporal. However, in 1916, Flora was seriously wounded by a grenade, where she subsequently the Order of the Karadorde Star. Due to her injuries, Flora spent the rest of the war running a hospital.
As its international women's day, I thought it would be fitting to tell the stories of some of the women hailed heroines during the first world war. Many of them went on to lead full interesting lives after the war, with some even continuing their work during the second world war. However, I am only going to tell their stories during the first world war. If you would like to find out what happens to them next, their is plenty of information on the internet as well as in books about women's work.
The first two women I am going to tell you about spent most of the war together so I thought that it would be fitting to combine their stories. Elizabeth Knocker was born in Exeter, England on the 29th June 1884. Mairi Chisholm was born in Nairn, Scotland on the 26th February 1896 and moved down to Dorset as a child. They met when they were eighteen years old and became good friends.
At the outbreak of war, Elizabeth wrote to Mairi about what they should do during the war and they both decided to join the Women's Emergency Corps. This was on organisation set up by Evelina Haverfield, Decima Moore & the Women's Social & Political Union. Mairi was chosen by Hector Munro to join the Flying Ambulance Corps, where she convinced Hector to also choose Elizabeth due to her training as a nurse, great mechanical and chauffeur skills and because she spoke fluent in both French & German.
The duo arrived in France on the 25th September 1914 and were quickly relocated in October to the town of Furnes near Dunkirk. Their role was to pick up soldiers from mid-way from the front & deliver them to a field hospital at the rear. They soon realised that despite their efforts, many of the soldiers were dying of their injuries before they made it to the hospital. They therefore decided to leave the organisation and set up on their own, setting up a dressing station just 100 yards from the trenches situated north of Ypres. It was decided that Elizabeth would treat patients, whilst Mairi drove the patients to the base hospital, all whilst under fire. They were even known to have carried the injured on their backs in order to get them to safety as quickly as possible.
Whilst doing this work, they also decided to take photographs of them at work, as well as the suffering going on around them. These photographs were to become highly popular in later years and are just some of the many chosen to be shown by historians today.
In January 1915 both Elizabeth & Mairi where awarded the Order of Leopold II, knights cross with palm by King Albert I of Belgium. They were also awarded the British Military Medal and made Officers, most venerable order of the hospital of St John of Jerusalem after rescuing a German pilot from no mans land. Mairi also received the Order of Queen Elizabeth of Belgium & the 1914 Star. The war came to an abrupt end for the pair in March 1918 after being gassed during a German offensive and were subsequently sent home.
On the 6th October 1889, Dorothie Feilding was born in Newnham Paddox to aristocratic parents. Out the outbreak of war she shunned her privileged upbringing and drove ambulance at the front. She received the Croix De Guerre and on the 1st September 1916, became the first woman to be awarded the Military Medal for bravery. Along with these, Dorothie also received the Order of Leopold II, knights cross with palm by King Albert I of Belgium.
Dorothie returned home to be married in June 1917 and spent the rest of the war driving the wounded around London.
On the 24th August 1863, Mary Amelia St Clair was born in Cheshire, England. Mary was a well-known writer & Suffragist but at the outbreak of war, Mary chose to be known under the name May Sinclair and volunteered to drive ambulances on the western front. However, after just a few short weeks, May was sent home for the duration and instead spent much of her time putting her experiences down on paper in the form of prose & poetry.
In August 1917, Mary O'Connell Bianconi (Known as Molly on the front line) joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry and worked as a driver in the St Omer Ambulance Convoy. In July 1918, after a heavy air raid, Molly & six others worked tirelessly to help the wounded whilst under fire, helping those buried in caves, dugouts and hospitals that had been hit. Due to her huge efforts, she received the Military Medal for bravery.
In 1914, a qualified surgeon named Elsie Inglis tried to volunteer with the Royal Army Medical Corps where she was told to 'go home & sit still'. Elsie therefore decided to set up her own organisation and so the Scottish Women's Hospitals were born, treating troops in Serbia & Russia. Elsie was the first women to receive the Order of the White Eagle, given to her by Serbia. Elsie & her team were evacuated in 1917 & unfortunately died just one day after returning to Britain from Cancer.
Chicago 1886, Mary Borden was born. At the outbreak of war, Mary was living in Britain. She decided to help the war effort by using her own money to equip & staff a field hospital. From 1915 she served as a nurse for the duration of the war. In her spare time she also wrote poetry such us 'The song in the mud'.
Join me on Tuesday with more stories about the brave women of world war one.
World War one was the first of a new type of war. A war no longer fought in foreign lands, instead a war the touched everyone. This was the first war that included the new technology of air power. I recently had the pleasure of watching the Great War Display team which was a lovely sight to see. However, for anyone that hasn't seen these, they aren't the fighters that we use today like the Eurofighters or the new F-35 that can launch its weapons and fly away from the target zones before the weapons have had time to explode. They weren't even the spitfire fighters of World War 2 that could weave in and out, trying to destroy their enemy's of the sky.
Instead these bi-planes, although the height of technology of the time, were slow and easily effected by weather conditions. They normally had a crew of two - one to fly and what to use weapons. As you can imagine this meant that they were more like sitting ducks with very little training before they were send to defend the soldiers on the front.
U-boats were another new idea that caused pain and death to many men, women and children as they attached both passenger ships and supplies ships. This was a new war that attacked the heart of Britain. However, what the enemy achieved instead was a new inner strength and determination to prove that the innocent people that had been killed had not died in vain. It also meant that Britain needed to become more self-sufficient else it's people would starve.
Women were able to do things in the work place like never before. They could learn to drive, work in factories and on farms that would usually only be done by strong men. A lot of these women loved earning there own money and the feeling of doing something important, that when the war ended many didn't want to give up their work.
The Great war destroyed many lives especially on the homefront. Men had to deal with shells landing close by, artillery fire and gas attacks as well as much more. It meant that none of the soldiers that returned would ever be the same again. A lot of men on returning to Britain were left damaged physically and mentally by the war years and were unable to work again the way they had pre-war. There wasn't any specific follow on care and mental health was only just being recognised. These men, who had given so much to help Britain become victorious, were left standing around on street corners and in markets not really knowing what to do. The Royal British Legion recognised this and started making poppies that these men could then sell creating a purpose for them. Although it wasn't making a significant difference like a factory would, it gave men something to do as well as making sure that the men left in Flanders fields were not forgotten. This how now become a tradition that is done every year in order to honour all those people that have sacrificed themselves to keep us free.
Not only were men left to cope on their own but many widows with large families that needs food, clothes and a roof over their head. There wasn't the welfare system that we have today. If money was needed you had to go out to work which meant that a lot of women started looking for any jobs available. These were usually the jobs that nobody else would do and would be very lowly paid.
Due to women working, they felt they needed shorter skirts and shorter hair styles that would not get trapped in machinery or make working difficult. This paved the way for the diversity in fashion that we have today.
Many children were left to fend for themselves during the daytime as women went to work. Many of the children had either lost their fathers or had fathers suffering from shell shock now more commonly now as post traumatic stress disorder. Children soon learnt to stay out of their way and many of them were scared to be left alone with the men. This led to children being on the street more and led to them playing the street games that most of us still remember.
These are just some of things that changed how we live today. Who would have known that in the not to distant future another world war would just be getting started.
