On The Auxiliary Services Of Women In The UK During World War Ⅱ

At present, there are few studies at home on the auxiliary services of women in theUnited Kingdom During World War Ⅱ. In order to make a deep and more comprehensive knowledgeof the women’s history of the UK and the history of World War Two, this paper focuses on theservices.During the Second World War Two, the main reasons why the auxiliary services of women inthe United Kingdom were founded are: the background of War of People, patriotism&benefits, lackof personel&recruitment from the government. The main women’s auxiliary services are AuxiliaryTerritorial Service attached to the Army, Women’s Royal Naval Service Affiliated to the Navy,Women’s Auxiliary Air Force attached to the Air Force and the military nursing services. At thebeginning of the war, members of the auxiliary services took on non-combatant duties. Late in thewar, servicewomen’s duties extended overseas. And some members even participated in combatantactions. At the beginning, the women’s auxiliary services were not recognized by the society and thearmy due to the concept ‘Men make houses, women make homes’. They were discriminated becauseof their lacking military identity. The auxiliary services were voluntary organizations only. Membersdidn’t possess military status until the year1941.And their identity were transformed into ‘subsidiarymembers’ from ‘volunteers’. The impact of the women’s auxiliary services made contributions notonly to the victory of the UK and world’s anti-Fascist war, but also to the wartime and postwarimprovement of British women’s economic, political, military and domestic status. The auxiliaryservices of women in the United Kingdom During World War Ⅱexpressed some characteristics ofBritish army’s moderation, women movement as well as the conservatism.