A post World War I scrapbook which has come into my possession may be of interest to researchers into the early days of Feminism during and after the First World War.
It is well-known that women were encouraged to deputise in men's jobs when servicemen were deployed abroad to fight. When the men returned in 1919, pressure was put on the women to retreat to the kitchen. This unearthed scrapbook personalises and encapsulates that process in a fondly annotated photographic essay of some women enroled for the first time in the Armed Services. It offers a tangible sense of those first female glimmerings of self-worth and independence.
This "time capsule" scrapbook appears to have belonged to one Dolores Francis Taylor of 262 Earls Court Rd, London, as many of the printed documents inside bear her name. She was mobilised as a member of the Royal Army Service Corps Women's Legion Motor Drivers Reserve, jobs before the war probably assumed to be "men only". Dolores Taylor was assigned to the 348 Motor Transport Company (Swindon?), camped near Larkhill, and was associated with the 1st Southern General Hospital at Birmingham. A photo of the relevant Women's Legion badge and some historical information is at:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30077004
Most photos are self-explanatory. They are mostly presented in the same order as in the scrapbook, with my occasional commentary. Surnames of the women may be those of their husband, which makes identification tenuous:
It is well-known that women were encouraged to deputise in men's jobs when servicemen were deployed abroad to fight. When the men returned in 1919, pressure was put on the women to retreat to the kitchen. This unearthed scrapbook personalises and encapsulates that process in a fondly annotated photographic essay of some women enroled for the first time in the Armed Services. It offers a tangible sense of those first female glimmerings of self-worth and independence.
This "time capsule" scrapbook appears to have belonged to one Dolores Francis Taylor of 262 Earls Court Rd, London, as many of the printed documents inside bear her name. She was mobilised as a member of the Royal Army Service Corps Women's Legion Motor Drivers Reserve, jobs before the war probably assumed to be "men only". Dolores Taylor was assigned to the 348 Motor Transport Company (Swindon?), camped near Larkhill, and was associated with the 1st Southern General Hospital at Birmingham. A photo of the relevant Women's Legion badge and some historical information is at:
http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30077004
Most photos are self-explanatory. They are mostly presented in the same order as in the scrapbook, with my occasional commentary. Surnames of the women may be those of their husband, which makes identification tenuous:
(As in English schools, teachers and superiors always lack a first name. Even one's own peers are generally referred to by surnames only, so inclusion of first names for these women is likely to be a significantly affectionate gesture).
(Interestingly, the token males are relegated to brackets).
(National Health Insurance stamps, 1919)
(Clearly, Margurite 'Babs' Badgely was a close friend of Dolores Taylor. She appears frequently in the scrapbook).
The scrapbook then offers several pages of postcards of scenes around Birminham including Kenilworth Castle, and an unfilled dance card from April 23 1919 at the 1st Southern General Hospital:
Gushing gratitude for women's service is expressed by the British War Office in the following letter to the Women's Legion Motor Drivers. Lurking uneasily between the lines, however, is the tacit assumption that women will choose to retreat to the kitchen once war is over and the men return to their former workplaces. It seems tantamount to saying "Please don't resign just yet - you're still useful to us at the moment"...
(Dolores Taylor was posted to Larkhill and Salisbury Plain sometime in 1919, and clearly enjoyed the region. At this point in the scrapbook she supplies several pages of sepia and hand-tinted postcards of scenes "within walking distance" of Larkhill, Amesbury, Villette, Durrington. Photos not included in this blog).
From the above notice I extract a pertinent sentence: All members desirous and willing to maintain their connection with the Legion after release or demobilisation should complete the form and hand it in to their Superintendant.
The notice also commends "...the excellent spirit which has sustained the W.L.M.D..." and the next letter gives yet more praise:
The notice also commends "...the excellent spirit which has sustained the W.L.M.D..." and the next letter gives yet more praise:
Then came the Demobilisation Advice on a small sheet of roneoed paper, giving one month's notice. Not a word of appreciation or thanks:
The impersonal notice is, ironically, signed by a woman (Clara Milnes-Morton), with a brief request to return clothing such as mackintoshes:
It must have been so heart-warming to have one's behaviour described as "Very good". So long, and thanks for all the fish... 
But impersonal and efficient military/male brevity aside, victory celebrations were in the air after 1919. Several music/dance programmes glued into Dolores' scrapbook transmit a strong sense of the pervading relief and dissipation of war tensions: 
(Note the hand-annotated menu items: "Roast Hun", and for Sweets "Area Tarts" and "Pussyfoot" and "Gear Oil")
Were it not for the war, women like Dolores Taylor may not have been propelled into the position of social power and independence of possessing a Driving Licence such as this one:
(This Standing Orders booklet is glued in but is complete).
As a doubly ironic post-script, Dolores Taylor has glued in the wedding notice of Clara Milnes Morton (click the photo to enlarge:
...and finally, here is the unassuming front cover of the foolscap scrapbook:
Communication/questions to goresymes@gmail.com
Reference: Lucy Noakes (2007) Demobilising the Military Woman: Constructions of Class & Gender in Britain after the First World War. Gender & History 19(1), 143-162. Available via Blackwells Synergy (opens in a new window).here
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Late addition - a photo of Dolores Taylor was recently sent to me. It was from an album belonging to the sender's relative Marguerite Badgley:
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rasc 348 m.t. company rasc women drivers post-war marriage marguerite badgley margarite badgley margaret badgley military history clara milnes moreton cicily saxe-windham mildred miles twickenham training school
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Late addition - a photo of Dolores Taylor was recently sent to me. It was from an album belonging to the sender's relative Marguerite Badgley:
.JPG)
