One listen to.
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| Poster, 1939-46 |
"80 years after female conscription, the final few tell their extraordinary World War Two stories as part of the ATS.
By war's end, 290,000 women of all backgrounds had served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service.
It may have had a less glamorous image than its naval and air force counterparts but the ATS was by far the biggest military service for women.
Initially the ATS had a reputation for dull demeaning work. That changed in 1941.
In December of that year, for the first time in British history, young single women had to join Britain's war effort.
Their choice of jobs expanded dramatically. Dr Tessa Dunlop unpacks some of the controversies that accompanied putting girls, en masse, into military uniform.
With a rich cast of veterans she examines the impact and legacy of Britain's female army. Class, comrades, conflict, loss, love, work - for a generation of young women military service was life-changing.
Presenter: Dr. Tessa Dunlop
Producer: John MurphyATS officers-in-training, 1944
Archive in the programme from BFI National Archive and British Pathe"*
Picture; They can't get on without us. Join me in the new ATS, a vital branch of Britain's territorial army. 9 divisions - with modern equipment, 1939 and 1946, The British National Archives icon.svg , and ATS officers-in-training man a searchlight in Western Command, 28 February 1944. Second Subaltern (2/Sub) Janet Holland is nearest the camera with 2/Sub Eileen Eteson behind. The ATS officers were required to spend six weeks at a searchlight site in order to have first hand experience of the work and conditions of the women under their future command. This is a 90cm projector. The operator moves the light using the wheel at the end of the long arm, in the foreground. This arrangement allowed the operator to stand outside the glare of the lamp. courtesy of the Imperial War Museum
*The Army Girls, BBC Radio 4, https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0012fk3
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