ENCOUNTERS

88 EXPLORE… SS Great Britain, Bristol

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Women’s war stories

Eighty years ago, in December 1941, parliament passed the National Service Act. This extended conscription to women – if they were aged between 20 and 30 and either childless widows or unmarried – for the first time. By VE Day, more than 190,000 women had served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS), part of the British Army.

Many of these women are no longer with us, making it all the more important to collect the memories of veterans. A one-off documentary, presented by historian Tessa Dunlop, author of new book Army Girls, offers a picture of lives changed forever and, at a time of formidable class barriers, social norms being challenged on a daily basis.

Initially, the work of the ATS (which had been formed in 1938) was seen as dreary, even demeaning, but that changed in 1941 when female soldiers were recruited to serve on anti-aircraft command gun