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Women & War: From the Fringes to the Frontlines
Type:Exhibition
Park Street
Woodstock
Oxfordshire
OX20 1SN
Tel: 01993 810211
About
Women & War will explore the diverse experiences of women who have been involved with all aspects of military life, from the 'fringes' of history to those now taking on front line roles in the armed forces today.
Using unique, personal stories, pen portraits of women in historical and modern roles feature throughout.
From 1941, women were called up for war work, in roles such as mechanics, engineers, munitions workers, air raid wardens, bus and fire engine drivers. Away from these vital roles more than 80,000 women joined the Women's Land Army, 'Land Girls' enduring tough conditions and long hours in isolated rural outposts in order to prevent Britain from being 'starved out'. Others would join women's auxiliary units of the Armed Forces, such as the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, Women's Royal Naval Service and Auxiliary Territorial Service.
In the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Churchill recruited around 60 women "to set Europe ablaze". They were deployed behind enemy lines, usually by parachute or fishing boats, to help form a 'secret army' of resistance fighters preparing the way for the Allied invasion.
Women continued to play a vital role after the war and over the last two decades, women have taken on more jobs in the British Army. Since 2018, all Army roles have been open to them. This includes combat roles in the infantry and special forces units.
But even before that, many female soldiers had been serving on the front line and in war zones across the world. Away from the front line, women have taken on positions and broken down the barriers in what were once male-dominated roles in MI5 and MI6; the UK's Security Service and Secret Service.
Members of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), founded in 1907, most famously played significant roles in the SOE during the Second World War, but remain active today. Members of the FANY have seen service in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as providing vital support during disasters, terrorist attacks and crises at home in the UK.
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