For King and Country: Blackmore During the First World War (Part 8): Women

Women, Work and the First World War in Blackmore

Mrs E. E. Wilde, who wrote a history of Ingatestone and Fryerning, published in 1913, remarks of organists at Fryerning Church:

“Mr Greenfield ... was succeeded for a while by Miss M Rock, but after a while she too retired (occupied too much perhaps by her efforts to promote the cause of Woman’s Suffrage), and the post is now filled by Mr Edgar Stone”.

The Changing Role of Women

The First World War changed the role of women.

In August 1915 Reeve writes that the Government was compiling a complete Register of all people aged between the ages of 15 and 65 should men need to be called up to fight the war and to ascertain those who may have expert knowledge in making ammunition or army clothing.

“As far as possible, women would be employed to take the place of men who had enlisted or who might enlist if a substitute could be found.”

When conscription was announced in February 1916, Reeve wrote:

“There will be few left but those who are engaged on the land or in the milking trade, or those indispensable to the keeping of stock.

Women are being advertised for to undertake employment in the field: domestic servants, both men and women, are to be regarded as unnecessary: pleasure gardens ad hot-houses are to be looked upon as luxuries only open in war-time to a few.

So many male teachers have enlisted, to have their places taken by women: and women also are being largely employed as clerks in banks and houses of business.

The whole country, and one may say the world, is being reorganised and changed.”

Women at Work in Chelmsford

Miss Baker’s personal reminiscences of the First World War in Margaretting were published in 1983.

On leaving school she trained for six months in shorthand, typing and book-keeping and got herself a job at Christy and Norris, an engineering firm, being a six-mile bicycle ride to work in Broomfield Road, Chelmsford.

She quickly found herself doing the jobs of despatch clerk and office boy. She commented:

“In Chelmsford I saw girls driving the big railway horses and vans. It was really wonderful to see women performing a great variety of tasks, bearing in mind that hitherto nearly all of them had worked in their homes or in service for people with large houses”.

One history book suggests that on 11th November 1918 Winston Churchill wondered about the 3 million redundant munitions workers, many of whom were women.

Revd. Andrew Clark of Great Leighs noted in his diary on 13th November that:

“Some of the girls at Hoffmann’s works, Chelmsford, were told on Tuesday 12th November that their wages would be reduced from £2.5s (£2.25) a week to 25s (£1.25) a week”.

Hoffmann made ball bearings which were in great demand by the armed forces. Crompton, another large firm in Chelmsford, made munitions.

Women on the Railways

On 8th January 1917 Reeve wrote:

“With the New Year considerable changes were introduced on the railways, fewer trains being provided for passengers – the men being presumably at the Front – and an increase of 50 per cent being made on the fares charged.

For some time the railway traffic has been conducted under difficulties, many signalmen, engine drivers, stokers and porters having been called up for service. At some London termini women porters have been in evidence, and passengers have been left to deal with their own luggage in many cases.

The New Year regulations forbid any passenger travelling with more than 100lbs weight of luggage”.

The Blackmore Women’s Institute

In support of the war effort a new women’s organisation was formed nationally.

The decision to form a Women’s Institute in Blackmore was taken at a meeting held at Blackmore House in March 1917 and application was made to the National Federation on 27th March.

The first officers were given as:

• Mrs Wellesley Pigott: President
• Miss Barrett: Vice-President
• Miss Ivy Lewis: Secretary
• Mrs Gamble: Treasurer

However, when the inauguration certificate was granted on 2nd June 1917, Mrs Letitia Allen had replaced Mrs Pigott as President, Miss Marriage replaced Miss Barrett, Mrs Millicent Dyer replaced Miss Lewis and Miss H Marriage replaced Mrs Gamble.

A complete change had taken place.

These were troubled times with the First World War in its third year and where groups of women were still regarded with suspicion and mistrust in many quarters.

This fact is evident in Blackmore at this time because the local grocer, Mr Thomas Puddephatt, showed a strong reluctance to supply the newly formed WI with additional supplies of sugar as directed by the Ministry of Agriculture so that WI members could make jam and preserves to help the war effort.

Mrs Allen sought help from the highest authority to try to resolve this problem.

In October 1917 both the Secretary, Mrs Dyer, and the Treasurer, Miss H Marriage resigned to compound the President’s problems. By December Miss Ivy Lewis had been reinstalled as Secretary.

In the beginning it would appear that there was no Committee, and the Group was simply run by its officers.

A representative of the National Federation attended a meeting on 23rd June 1917 and wrote an official report which makes interesting reading:

“This meeting was held in the school room, unprepared, and unattractive, 25 members were present, the President is away, and the Vice President is somewhat opposed to the Institute and did not appear till the end of the meeting, this makes it very difficult for the Secretary and Treasurer.

The members seem keen and interested but have taken little part in the meeting ...”.

The ladies of the WI remarked:

“This is a fair sized village with several shops. The membership will be largely comprised of women from the farms”.

Jam and Jerusalem came to Blackmore in 1917.

Arthur Roast Writes from France

Meanwhile soldiers continued to send letters home, including Arthur Roast.

Letter from Arthur Roast, 3rd June 1918

June 3rd 1918

Dear Sir. I now take the honour of sending these few lines to you trusting that yourself and the Misses Reeves are all in the Best of Health and thank god it leaves me.

But the noise has made my nerves a bit shakey. I must tell you Sir that I have a new set of teeth in now but they Want a bit of getting used to.

I would have Written Before Sir But we have been So busy moving about. Will you Kindly Remember me to the Cook & also to Mrs Pension and I trust also that Mr Pension is Safe and Well.

I hope all the garden is doing well. I am at Present in a Barn but it is nice Weather now so I do not mind only We want Plenty of Bathing Parades.

Will you kindly Remember me to all Stondon Friends and likewise Mrs Lewis if still their.

I was sorry to Hear of Poor Mr Hawkins & will you kindly except my deepest sympathy & I also trust that young Mr Hawkins is fully Recoverd From his wound.

I expect the Farmers will soon be busy now haymaking. I hope they will be able to gather it in safely.

Now dear Sir I think this is all for the Present. With it I will Close. With my best wishes.

From Your Obedient Servant.
A Roast.

Sir. Will you kindly get my adres of Mother as I quite Forgot to Put it in here.

Women in Agriculture

With reference to haymaking which Arthur observed only too well at home Reeve wrote on 29th June 1918:

“The hay-tying is going on in the neighbourhood and compressed trusses are being prepared for shipment. We notice more women employed than was the case last year.

The women now not only act as clerks, but, dressed in suitable clothing, largely control and direct the machinery.

Eight women with a superintendent attached to the gang have been billeted a fortnight in the village, while the men engaged have been in the minority.”

Votes for Women

The call for ‘Votes For Women’ prior to the War was now unquestionable and a free vote given to Members of Parliament met with little opposition becoming law in June 1918.

The ‘Representation of the People Act’ created almost universal suffrage for males over 21 years old (previously only three-fifths of the population could vote) and women over 30.

Harry Patch, the last surviving veteran who served in the trenches, wrote in his autobiography in 2007:

“They could hardly withhold the right to vote from soldiers who had fought for their country”.

It increased the franchise from 7 million to 20 million. Until then, only those who owned property could vote.

A J P Taylor wrote:

“War smoothed the way to democracy – one of the few things to be said in its favour”.

Voting in Blackmore

Emma Bass, foster mother to Edwin Alexander in 1901 one of the victims of the War, was able to vote for the first time in 1918.

Her name appears on the Blackmore Electoral Roll. She lived in one of the cottages alongside the Post Office.

Reeve wrote on 14th December:

“The General Election of Members of Parliament is taking place today. Stondon people go to Blackmore to vote.

This is the first occasion of the admission of women to the franchise, and the first occasion when women Candidates for Parliament have been admissible.

Motor-cars and carriages are being utilized where possible for the conveyance of electors, and I have seen several amused and smiling faces of village women being taken to the poll, pleased alike with their unwonted excitement of their importance.

The Poll will be declared on the 28th, the delay being caused by the inclusion of soldiers’ proxies who are permitted to vote by post”.