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1914-18 War • Conductress

War Effort • Public Transport

Before the Great War women did not do certain jobs.
Women did not have the vote.
There were very few Postwomen.Generally women did not work on buses or trams.Women did not work in engineering.There were no Policewomen or women in the Armed Forces.

As all available able bodied men were taken by the armed forces the government turned to women to fill the labour shortage. Jobs which in peace time did not admit women were now open to both sexes.

A handful of women were tram drivers but many more were tram or bus conductresses.
One clue with conductresses is to look for leather re-enforcing on the cuffs.
At the time they saw themselves not as champions of emancipation but simply as doing a job while the men were fighting at the front.