Women's Volunteer Groups

May 1938 - present

In 1938, with the outbreak of World War Two looking more and more likely, the Home Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare decided to establish a women's voluntary organisation to assist in the event of possible future air attacks. On 16 May, the Women's Voluntary Service for Air Raid Precautions (WVS) was founded. Hoare asked the energetic and determined Lady Reading, who had been a nurse during World War One, to run the WVS.

When war broke out in September 1939, the WVS already had 165,000 members. Their work quickly diversified into helping in all areas of the Home Front, and their name was soon changed to the WVS for Civil Defence. One of their earliest tasks was to assist with the evacuation of one and a half million mothers and children from large cities to the country. The WVS also provided food and clothing for thousands of refugees from occupied Europe.

When German air raids on British towns and cities began, the WVS was heavily involved in providing support for those whose homes had been bombed. They organised rest centres, prepared food and ensured there were washing facilities and new clothes for bomb victims.

Later in the war, they staffed Incident Inquiry Points to give information about the dead and injured to relatives and friends.

They also supported the emergency services dealing with the effects of the bombing, running mobile canteens for firemen and rescue workers.

WVS members staffed hostels, clubs and communal feeding centres called 'British Restaurants' and undertook welfare work for troops. When American troops began to arrive in Britain in 1942, the WVS ran 200 'British Welcome Clubs' all over the country in attempt to bridge the divide between the troops and British civilians.