Who were the WVS in ww2?

The Women’s Voluntary Service (WVS) began in June 1938 to prepare women for civil defence work. By September 1939, the WVS had 336,000 members, increasing to 1 million members during the war. One of the main tasks of the WVS was to recruit women for Air Raid Precautions services (ARP).

Is the WVS still going?

For over 80 years, WVS, WRVS and today as Royal Voluntary Service, has inspired around two million women and men to give their time to help others. The driving force behind the organisation has been our founder, Lady Reading. Our world today may be very different to that of 1938, but her words still resonate with us.

When was the WVS formed?

20 May 1938
The WVS began on 20 May 1938 and would, over the following months, outgrow its original purpose of Air Raid Precautions. At the outbreak of war there were over 300,000 members, soon rising to over one million.

What did the women’s Voluntary Service do ww2?

The service, founded in 1938, was originally set up to train women to be able to help with air raid precautions. It soon developed into running emergency rest centres, feeding, first aid, and assisting with the evacuation and billeting of children.

What was the role of the WVS in World War 2?

Tell us what fact sheets you’d find useful. The WVS was instrumental in the preparations, billeting and ongoing care of millions of children evacuated from cities and high risk areas to the countryside during the Second World War.

How many women were in the WVS in 1940?

The Hidden Histories of A Million Wartime Women project tells stories of “everyday heroism” from female volunteers from more than 2,000 cities, towns and villages across Britain. By 1940, one in 10 women was a member of the WVS.

What was the history of the WVS Housewives service?

A history of the WVS Housewives Service from its origins in Ilford in 1938 up to mid 1942 written by Mrs Atkinson, Head of Personnel and Training at WVS in 1942. The Housewives Service was formed to assist the Air Raid Wardens Service and by 1942 had nearly 240,000 members, one on almost every street in Britain.

When did the WVS start writing narrative reports?

Between 1938 and 1992, members of the WVS wrote monthly Narrative Reports to document their activities in the local community. As part of our Hidden Histories of a Million Wartime Women project to digitise the first few years of these diaries (1938-1942), you can now follow their journey through this compilation of weekly blogs.