Women's Defence Relief Corps facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Women's Defence Relief Corps |
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Women's Defence Relief Corps brassard
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| Active | 1914–1918 |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Role | Women's war work and home defence |
| Engagements | First World War |
The Women's Defence Relief Corps was a group of volunteers in the United Kingdom during the First World War. It was created to help more women find jobs. This would allow men to leave their jobs and join the armed forces.
The corps also had a special "semi-military" part. This section taught women skills like shooting and military drills. These skills were for defending their homes and country. The group received some support from the Board of Agriculture. However, another group, the Women's Land Army, became much more successful.
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Starting the Corps: A New Role for Women
The Women's Defence Relief Corps was started by Mrs Dawson Scott. This happened in September 1914, soon after the First World War began. At first, the main goal was to help women get jobs. This way, more men could join the British army. The army did not require people to join until 1916.
Important leaders like Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener and Frederick Roberts, 1st Earl Roberts supported the group. The corps grew to have two main parts. One was the civil section, which focused on helping women find work.
The Semi-Military Section
The other part was the "Semi-Military or good-citizen section." These women wanted to learn how to defend themselves and their families. This section was formed because official home defense groups would not train women.
The semi-military section practiced military drills. They learned marching, scouting, and how to shoot. Mrs. Scott also helped create an official handbook for the corps. Women in the corps wore a brown cloth brassard (an armband) with a red letter H on it.
Women's Work During the War
In spring 1915, the corps began helping with farm work. They played a key role in connecting farmers with women who could work part-time. The corps advertised these jobs as good vacation work for women. They also set a minimum pay of 18 shillings per week.
The Women's Land Army grew out of the corps in 1915. This new group aimed to help with food shortages. By the end of the war, the Land Army had sent out over 9,000 female workers. They were very important in saving the British flax harvest in 1918.
The Corps' Contributions
The Women's Defence Relief Corps was a smaller group. By 1916, they had sent out work teams with only 465 women. These women mostly did lighter farm tasks. This included picking fruit, harvesting hops, and making hay.
Even though the corps did not have a huge impact, the Board of Agriculture was interested. They wanted to use the corps to get more middle-class women into farming leadership roles. By the end of 1916, the number of women in the corps had grown to 2,000.
However, the Board of Agriculture decided that a bigger plan for female volunteers was needed. From March 1917, they focused all their efforts on the Women's Land Army.
