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Lady Worsley Inspects the new 'Stop me' snack convenience in Hastings, July 1944

Lady Worsley inspects the new ‘Stop Me’ snack convenience in Hastings, July 1944

Hidden histories of a million wartime women

The Royal Voluntary Service want their wartime records from Hastings and around the country to go online – and they’ve organised a Kickstarter campaign to make the information accessible to everyone for the first time. The project will reveal almost 30,000 pages of never-before-seen diaries from female volunteers – nicknamed ‘the army that Hitler forgot’. By 1943, there were 2,075 Women’s Voluntary Services volunteers in Hastings and in the RVS archive, there are 70 narrative reports for Hastings covering 1938-1945. Sinead Paton writes on behalf of the RVS.

The collection was awarded UNESCO UK Memory of the World status in 2010, as the documents are some of the most important in 20th Century British history.

Transporting toddlers in donkey carts, knitting dog-hair and running mobile canteens are just a few of the hidden histories of over a million wartime women documented in never-before-seen diaries in the RVS archive.

The charity, previously known as the Women’s Voluntary Services, will be the first in the UK to use the crowd-funding website Kickstarter to help fund the digitisation of previously unseen records of life on the Home Front, so they are accessible to all.

An entry written in May 1944 by a Hastings volunteer, Ethel W Lee, tells of how the women helped 100 homeless people at a local rest centre by distributing clothes, serving refreshments and running a sick bay. Not only this, but the women ran a lively canteen in Hastings, and Ethel explains how she spoke to officers who told her just how much they appreciated the comfort and quiet.

The entry goes on to detail a touching story of when the women served tea at 4am to 400 men leaving the town for war. The volunteer centre soon received two letters of appreciation from units leaving.

The Hidden Histories of A Million Wartime Women project launched on Kickstarter in early May and calls on public support to help reveal a unique insight into life during World War II, unlocking access to thousands of diary entries such as Ethel’s.

More than 30,000 pages of diary entries spanning over half a century of British history tell stories of everyday heroism by female volunteers from over 2,000 cities, towns and villages across Great Britain – documented at a time when one in 10 women in Britain was a member. If the Kickstarter project hits its £25,000 target, the Archive & Heritage Collection team at the RVS will begin by digitising the first 28,000 pages covering 1938 to 1941.

The online archive will allow the public to access previously unpublished material, which catalogues how the largest volunteer organisation in British history supported Civil Defence.

The archive’s UNESCO status means the diaries are considered to be as important as other historical texts, such as the Doomsday Book and the Death Warrant of King Charles I – and certainly some of the most important in 20th century British history.

WVS Mobile Canteen after the December 1940 blitz in Sheffield

WVS mobile canteen after the December 1940 blitz in Sheffield

Actress Patricia Routledge, who is known for her leading role in Keeping Up Appearances, is fronting the campaign. She says: “The women of the WVS made great sacrifices for this country, but the breadth of their contribution has been hidden from view until now. We hope that, in making their stories available to everybody, the value of their contribution will gain the recognition it deserves.”

Ruth Goodman, historian and television personality, says: “It is often the quiet voices of history which are the most revealing. They can be easily overlooked amongst the clamour of parliamentary speeches, gunfire and official pronouncements, but the diaries and letters of a host of less celebrated lives speak of the true temperature of the times. It is these unassuming thoughts, feelings and reports which tell us what was really happening behind the rhetoric. The Royal Voluntary Service archive offers an all-too-rare opportunity to hear directly the voices of the twentieth century.”

Matthew McMurray, Royal Voluntary Service archivist said: “For six years we have been sorting, protecting and preserving tens of thousands of pieces of fragile paper to get to a point where we can start to capture and share these remarkable stories with everyone. Those million women, the army that Hitler forgot, were pivotal in the allied victory in the Second World War, but their efforts have almost completely been forgotten.

“We want to be able to share these tales of everyday heroism and those million ordinary women who made the difference. Please go to our Kickstarter page,  get drawn into the story, pledge your support and help us reveal the Hidden Histories of A Million Wartime Women.”

Being fitted for clothes in Hastings

Being fitted for clothes in Hastings

The Hidden Histories of A Million Wartime Women page will go live for 30 days from early May. As well as further background information on the project, the page will also highlight the ‘thank yous’ available to those who donate:

· £2 – For those who wish to show their support

· £10 – Donor’s name appears on the archive website

· £20 – Set of 10 exclusive postcards depicting how the women of the WVS relieved suffering during war

· £60 – Limited edition print of Miss Mercury, a WVS motorcycle messenger in London during the war

· £60 – An opportunity for donors to read narratives from their town of interest before anyone else has access

· £1,000 – An exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the RVS Archive & Heritage Collection, closed to the public, and lunch at a local five-star Bistro.

A WVS member washing children's gas masks in Bath, May 1942

A WVS member washing children’s gas masks in Bath, May 1942

The RVS now

The RVS now supports over 100,000 older people each month to stay independent in their own homes for longer with tailor-made solutions. Through its army of volunteers, the charity runs services such as Good Neighbours (companionship), Meals-on-Wheels and Books-on-Wheels that alleviate loneliness and help older people. The RVS also provides practical support for older people who have been in hospital through its On Ward Befriending and Home from Hospital services and via its network of retail shops and cafes.

About the RVS’s Archive & Heritage Collection

The RVS’s Archive & Heritage Collection was started in 1958 and has been cared for by volunteers for almost all of that time. In the archive in Devizes, Wiltshire, a small dedicated volunteer team give over 1,000 hours a year to help preserve the collection’s stories for the future and share them with others. Most of the volunteers have a history with the organisation; some have been volunteering for over 30 years. Archivist Matthew McMurray has spent the past 10 years working to turn what was a very large pile of boxes in a self-storage warehouse into a collection that is available to everyone. The Kickstarter project is just one more step on the road to making that happen.

About RVS

· Formerly known as WRVS, RVS has been helping people in Britain for 75 years.

· Originally set up as the Women’s Voluntary Services in 1938, the charity played a crucial role during the Second World War.

· Whilst keeping the same values of community service, the RVS has now focused its work on helping older people to remain independent and get more out of life.

· RVS is one of the largest voluntary organisations in Britain, with 35,000 men and women helping people in their homes, the community, hospitals and in emergencies.

· The charity is a founding member of the Campaign to End Loneliness, a partner in the Big Lottery funded project, Shaping our Age, a supporter of the Malnutrition Task Force and a member of the Care and Support Alliance, the Falls and Fractures Alliance, Age Action Alliance and the Dementia Action Alliance.

· The RVS has Investing in Volunteers status in recognition of its good practice and effective volunteer management.

For more information on the Royal Voluntary Service please visit their website.

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Posted 10:01 Friday, May 13, 2016 In: Hastings People

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