Women everywhere in London have carried on right through the raids. Women wardens, women of the Auxiliary Fire Service, nurses, women ambulance drivers, women in charge of mobile canteens have all acted with cool competence without paying any attention to possible personal risk.
The Women's Voluntary Services were equal to every call made upon them. The biggest of their mobile canteens served 3,000 cups of tea on Monday night during the raids. The rest and clothing centres which they staff for the local authorities, where homeless people awaiting billeting are housed, fed, comforted, and clothed, are entirely manned by the W.V.S., and are known as "The Third Line." During the worst raids on the East End their drivers drove on with their stores of food and clothing to the schools and church halls where the homeless were temporarily housed. The drivers said that it was waste of time to stop and take shelter while hurrying to where they were needed. Much of the clothing has come from the American Red Cross through the Personal Service League. Five thousand pounds was given for underclothing for the East End poor, and ú1,000 for warm pullovers for men, besides the tons of clothing and blankets already given.
MOBILE TEAMS
The W.V.S. are now organizing mobile teams to lessen the burden on some of their overworked and very tired women. These mobile teams consist of 10 women: in London they will come on call from the less harried boroughs which have suffered least to help the areas that are badly hit. The county boroughs will also have mobile teams ready to lend a hand where wanted.
Another immediate need is first aid boxes for the shelters. For making these they are asking for large biscuit tins with covers; 4oz. empty bottles if possible with screw tops; small tins that would hold 1/4lb. baking powder; old clean sheeting to make triangular bandages; unbreakable drinking cups (from picnic baskets), tea spoons, dessert spoons, blunt-pointed scissors, safety pins, baking soda, 2oz. bottles of sal volatile, rolls of adhesive plaster, emergency dressings, tannic acid jelly (1s. size). These should be sent direct to the technical department, W.V.S., 41, Tothill Street, S.W., where they will be assembled to make up simple first aid boxes.
.lcIn 1942 the government announced that ATS women would man the anti-aircraft search lights - the most dangerous of all Civil Defence work.
