Women liberated by the Great War (From Basingstoke Gazette)

Women liberated by the Great War

10:41am Tuesday 16th March 2010 in

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THE timing could not have been better as Hollywood director Kathryn Bigelow made history as the first woman to win a best director Oscar on International Women’s Day.

In total, her film The Hurt Locker scooped six Oscars on the hundredth anniversary of when International Women’s Day was first proposed.

Initially, the annual event took place largely due to the efforts of Clara Zetkin, who was leader of the Women’s Office for Germany's Social Democratic Party. She thought every country should mark an annual Women’s Day.

It was in 1975 – which was designated International Women’s Year – that the United Nations officially recognised International Women’s Day. This is now marked as national holidays in countries as diverse as China, Armenia, Bulgaria, Russia and Vietnam.

Every year around the world, events are held by various organisations which work for the welfare of women and campaign for gender equality.

Here in Basingstoke, this year, the day was marked with an event at Basingstoke College of Technology where local women were able to showcase their businesses and products.

It was organised by Enterprise Solutions, which is part of Education Solutions Direct, and it attracted women from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures.

An exhibition to celebrate International Women’s Day, called Made to Fit, will go on show at The Willis Museum in Basingstoke, starting on Saturday and running until Saturday, April 17.

Museum curator Sue Tapliss said the exhibition is being organised by Women’s Work – a collective of Basingstoke female artists.

It will feature the work of local, national and internationals female artists, where each one presents pieces of art as small as a CD case.

“This will be Women’s Work 14th exhibition to celebrate International Women's Day in Basingstoke,” said Sue.

“It’ll also be our first foray into contemporary art and it will be great to showcase international works in our Basingstoke gallery. I hope it will be thought-provoking for everyone.”

The upcoming exhibition prompted Sue to dip into the museum service’s collections for her favourite images relating to women doing things ahead of their time.

Among the photos is one of an auxiliary fire officer, Mrs I Hill, who Sue sees as a pioneer of her day.

“She was the first women in the volunteer fire service in Basingstoke,” said Sue. “The photo was taken in 1939 and shows her wearing the uniform of the National Fire Service.”

Sue also dug out a photo showing the Thornycroft Women’s Football team, taken between 1914 and 1918. Despite a recent increase in interest in women’s football, the sport had a much bigger following at the beginning of the last century than it does today.

Indeed, according to the Football Association, the biggest crowd to date for a women’s match was in 1920.

The Boxing Day match saw 53,000 watch Dick Kerr's Ladies beat St Helen's Ladies 4-0.“War often acts as a catalyst for change, and it certainly did in women’s history,” said Sue.

“You find this with the First World War, with the young men going off to the front, and women having to take their place in production and farming.

“And, obviously, they felt they were almost liberated from their husbands and families, where they could earn a wage for the first time for themselves.”

Women who worked in factories all over the country, such as vehicle maker Thornycroft in Basingstoke, were encouraged to play football by the Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, partly to help reinforce the idea that women were ably doing the work of men.

Following conscription in 1916, football matches became important as they helped raise money for wartime charities.

Of course, women were not only required to work in factories, they were also very much needed to work on the land.

Another photo selected by Sue shows a land girl with cattle, taken in Basingstoke between 1914 and 1918.

“After the First World War, women were expected to return to the home to be mothers and daughters,” said Sue. “It wasn’t a change many welcomed as they missed their freedoms.”

“So you can almost see a growth in women’s liberation, which as a high-profile campaign, peaked in Britain during the 1960s and 1970s – and now you have women thinking they can run museums!” joked Sue.

If anyone has further information about the photographs Sue has picked out, please call The Willis Museum on 01256 465902 and your information can be added to the archives.