The Birth of Women’s Football

The birth of women’s football Written by Pam Preedy. Girls Versus Boys Football had always been a male preserve, but in December 1915, a match was played between Bromley Boys (National Team) and Vickers Girls: The Bromley & Kentish Times reported on the match (7th July 1914). “A game that finished up in a comical football match was played on the Queen’s Mead ground last Saturday … The game ended with a large amount of scoring, the Old Boys scoring 17 goals to the Ladies’ 1 … At the start…

Women to Help Home guard

Women to Help Home Guard Casualty Service Training More volunteers wanted in Bromley Arrangements have now been completed for the training of women to assist with the Casualty Services of the Home Guard in the Bromley area.  It is not intended that these women shall go out to attend to casualties in the fighting positions, but that they shall staff shelter points in selected houses to which casualties will be brought to await removal by ambulance to hospital. As, under invasion conditions there may be delays in procuring evacuation by…

Women’s Home Defence, 1942

Chance to Learn to Shoot “No Drills, No Red Tape, No Uniform” The announcement that a unit of the Women’s Home Defence is being formed in Bromley has aroused considerable interest among women over a wide area. The Women’s Home Defence is a voluntary movement started by women, and is sponsored by Dr. Edith Summerskill, M.P.  The Bromley organiser is Miss R.G. Cottrell, 6 Orchard Road. Seen by a Kentish time reporter, Miss Cottrell said she had already received about a dozen letters and cards from women who wrote in…

Women’s War-time Services, 1941

Attractive procession in Bromley Second Week of Salvage Drive Representatives of many of the women’s war-time services took part in a ladies’ procession on Thursday, last week, to further the fortnight’s salvage campaign in Bromley, which technically closed on Saturday. —- A tableau in the Women’s Procession as it passed the Municipal Buildings, where the salute was appropriately taken by the Deputy-Mayor, Councillor Margaret Stafford Smith. Source: Bromley & District Times, 3rd October 1941 (page 5)

Recruits for the ATS needed URGENTLY

This notice was published in the local Bromley & District Times newspaper in October 1941, by the Ministry of Labour and National Service, advertising to parents of girls seeking work to join up to the Auxiliary Territorial Service. A message from the Government to PARENTS of all girls… …who are not yet employed in full-time WAR WORK. Your daughter is being asked to volunteer immediately for the Auxiliary Territorial Service, even if she has yet to register or is now awaiting her interview. The need for recruits to the A.T.S.…

Women’s Land Army

Between June 1939 and November 1950, over 200,000 women were employed by the Women’s Land Army; an army of women, known as Land Girls, who replaced farm workers who had gone off to war. These women came from all walks of life, and despite having little to no experience of agriculture, they ploughed, drove tractors, grew produce, milked cows and much more, to help with the critical need to increase food production around the country. The Women’s Land Army started to publish a monthly magazine called ‘The Land Girl’, with…

Miss Beatrix Batten

It’s always nice to see women receiving awards for their efforts. Here we have Miss Beatrix Batten, Commandant of Abbey Lodge V.A.D. Hospital, Chislehurst awarded the M.B.E She was born in April 1886 and lived with her parents and sister at Foxdeane in Lower Camden, Chislehurst. Her father was a solicitor. Known as Trixie she graduated from Girton College, Cambridge. She volunteered with the Red Cross in 1913 and rose to become Area Commandant. She was awarded the Red Cross War Medal for over 1000 hours of unpaid work during…

The Supreme test of British Womanhood

Adverts like this one from the Bromley & District Time (31st May 1918,  page 6) appeared in local newspapers advertising for woman to join the British Army in roles such as cooks, waitresses and clerks. The supreme test of British Womanhood comes now The British Army Urgently requires 5000 Women clerks You will be trained FREE and paid during training – and you enrol for the duration of the war in Queen Mary’s Army Auxiliary Corps