Women and the Great War, part 1 ............ Barnet Postwomen circa 1914-18

Now there is a lot of sloppy history presented to us and some of is about the role of women in the two world wars.

The received package of sleek easy to take in information will be that women took the place of men in many industries and won the right to the vote in recognition of their efforts.

Of course as ever there is truth in that line but it hides much more.  Many women at the time were fully aware of the efforts they made but as Annot Robinson observed *

“Women “will most certainly have to take the place of men.  

There is already a shortage of men workers in Manchester  but so far as I am aware no women taking on a man’s work will be receiving a man’s wage.“**

Now I have written about Mrs Robinson and the degree to which women were exploited while working in a whole range of industries and often then doing another job at home.

And so here to start a short series a group of post women from Barnet, kindly supplied by David Harrop.

The caption just says, "Barnet Postwomen circa 1914-18."

In time I will go looking for more on this group but for now that's it.

Picture;  Barnet Postwomen circa 1914-18, courtesy of David Harrop

*Annot Robinson, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Annot%20Robinson

**Letters to the Daily Citizen, courtesy of the Labour History Archives & Study Centre,  at the People’s History Museum, Manchester, http://www.phm.org.uk/


Annot Robinson, http://chorltonhistory.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Annot%20Robinson

Additional information from

ANNOT ROBINSON: A FORGOTTEN MANCHESTER SUFFRAGETTE, Kate Rigby, Manchester Regional History Review, Vol 1 Nu 1 Spring 1987,
http://www.hssr.mmu.ac.uk/mcrh/files/2013/01/mrhr_01i_rigby.pdf