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The conscription of men for the Forces has nothing
new about it, but a new and quite revolutionary move made by the passing
of National Service (No. 2) Act in December, 1941. Although many women
had joined the women’s Auxiliary Services voluntarily, this Act gave
the Government power to put women into uniform. Women badly needed for
the Auxiliary Services, which undertake a variety of duties -– from
guiding a night bomber back to a station by a radio to catering for a
thousand-man – that would set free the services of men. 
The voluntary recruiting drives for the Women’s
Auxiliary Services, though not always conducted with adroitness, had not
been failures, but it was realized that a slap-dash voluntary system
might be wasteful of womanpower. It was just as important that some
young women should be kept out of the Auxiliary Services as that some
others should be drawn in. Women, in fact, had to be mobilised as
carefully as the men, and women have the same statutory protection and
safeguards as men for conscientious objections, postponement of
calling-up on the grounds of exceptional hardships, and reinstatement on
discharge from the Forces.
Royal Proclamations have been issued making liable
to service single women and widows without children in the age classes
19 to 30, but up to the present only women born in the years 1918 to
1923 inclusive have been called up. Women called up under the Act were
in the first place given an option between the women’s Auxiliary
Services, Civil Defence, or specified jobs in industry as the Ministry
from time to time direct. The Civil Defence option was subsequently
withdrawn, and women called up under the act given a choice between the
Women’s Services and industry, and this choice in no small measure
contributed to the smoothness with which conscription for women has
worked. Since January, 1944, the Forces option has been suspended and
single women between the ages of 20 and 25 who become available for
calling up are all allocated to priority civilian jobs. This is due to
the greatly reduced recruiting programme of the women’s Auxiliary
Services and to paramount needs of industry. Women are not required to
use lethal weapons unless they volunteer to do so, a provision that
leaves Amazon and the shrinking maiden equally satisfied, even though
the Amazon might prefer still more active service and the shrinking
maiden blush to find herself in uniform at all.
Finally it can be said that after some doubtful
starts, these Women’s Auxiliary Services, whose trim khaki, light and
dark blue uniforms are now seen everywhere, are being sensibly managed;
the girls look healthy and happy, and clearly most of them will make
better wives and mothers and citizens, if only because they have had
some physical and mental training and been given a glimpse of wider
horizons after their years of national service.
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