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Service

Part 1: Women’s Services

1. How long have you been with the Service?

Over a Year 1

6-12 months 2

3-6 months 3

1-3 months 4

under 1 month 5

2. Why did you join?

Because you thought the country needed your Services 1

Because advertisements attracted you 2

Your husband, fiancé or friend had joined H.M. Services and you want to join too 3

Your girl friend/s had joined and you wanted to join 4

You wanted a more interesting job. 5

Other reasons for joining.

3. Which are the things about life in the Service you like?

4. Which things do you not like?.

5. What suggestions have you for improving the things you do not like?

6. What do you think is the general public opinion about the Service?

7. Would you like to leave the Service?

Why? Yes 1

No 2

8. If yes, what would you like to do instead?

Why?

9. If you know of other girls and women who have left the Service, what in your opinion was the reason?

10. Did any advertisement or announcement help you to reach a decision about joining the Service?

Yes 1

Don’t know 2

No 3

If yes, what? Please give particular items, if possible.

Radio 1

Newspapers 2

Magazines 3

Posters 4

Films 5

Exhibition 6

Other media 7

Rank and Occupation of Person Interviewed

Age Group: 17½ - 20, 20 - 25, 25 - 30, 30 - 35, over 35

Informant's Occupation in Peace time

or

Father’s Peace time Occupation

Comments:

Investigator.........

Date.........

Station.........

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Reasons given for joining A.T.S.

Question 2. Why did you join?

Many of the 611 A.T.S. personnel to whom this question was put gave more than one reason, the total number of reasons being 822.

Nearly half of the reasons put forward for joining are patriotic in nature, or are allied to patriotism. Financial and economic factors come out in the second largest group, in that they were unemployed or unoccupied at the time, although this, of course, does not constitute a reason why they should have chosen the A.T.S. of all the available Services.

The number attracted by the uniform is small, although a proper value cannot be put to this, as comparable data for the W.R.N.S, the W.A.A.F.s and other Services was not obtained.

The number who were recruited by advertisements or friends is not outstanding. It is interesting to see that nearly 2% joined because they were unhappy at home, although this again is not a reason why they should have chosen the A.T.S. In such cases it is probable that they felt they wanted to leave home and the A.T.S. offered the easiest escape. There is no evidence that once they were in the A.T.S. they regretted their action, as is shown in Question 7.

The accuracy of the main reason put forward, that they wanted to help the country, could be challenged on the ground that it is, after all, the reason par excellence that Service women would give to a civilian investigator interviewing at a camp or barracks. But if it is remembered that the A.T.S., up to the time of the Survey, were a purely voluntary body of women, the result appears to be reasonable. Obviously, volunteers would be largely motivated by patriotic reasons.

In this connection the reasons given by volunteers are not necessarily the reasons that would prompt other women to join, and therefore publicity based on those reasons would not necessarily be successful.

The answers to this question are detailed in the following Table.

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Reasons given for joining A.T.S.

Miscellaneous : Acted on impulse. - Joined in lieu of W.R.N.S., N.A.A.F.I.,- Called up and told to join- Conscripted(?) and chose A.T.S.rather than munitions- Wanted to avoid conscription- Joined A.T.S. because they offered real job.

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What the A.T.S. personnel like about the Service

Question 3. Which are the things you like? (In the A.T.S.)

There was a total of 1,166 remarks made in answer to this question, of which ten (.9%) said that there was nothing that they did like about the. Service; everything was distasteful to them. The overwhelming majority of 99.1% gave one or more features which they liked best, and 12.6% said that everything about the Service was liked. The items are shown graphically in the above diagram, and detailed in the appended Table.

The most important group mentioned is that of companionship and the opportunity of making new friends. The next most important group deals with the work of the A.T.S., a large proportion saying that the work is interesting and useful. Another point which emerges is that discipline as such is sought after by 6%

It should be borne in mind that the question asked the A.T.S. personnel to state which things they liked, which automatically becomes which things are liked best. It would be almost impossible for anybody to state all the things which they really liked about a service.

The figures show that some reliance may be placed upon the finding that from six to seven out of ten A.T.S. find companionship and great interest in the Service and that only a very small proportion dislike it. This confirms the results of Question 7 which show that, apart from reasons not connected with the A.T.S., very few dislike it so much that they wish to leave.

Analysis of Miscellaneous mentions

Good pay: .3% Job to be done and you can get on with it without worrying: .2% They try to arrange for husbands and wives to be near each other: .5% Can bring boy friends occasionally to parties: .1%; Living with young people: 2%; Sense of independence and freedom: 1.0%

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Dislikes of A.T.S. Personnel

Question 4. Which things do you not like (about the A.T.S.)?

The remarks made in answer to this question totalled 772, of which 147 (19%) were to the effect that nothing was disliked, which is a reflection of the results of Question 3.

The total remarks dealing with specifie things disliked amount to 625, and are detailed in the Table appended.

The uniform and matters allied to it constitute the main source of displeasure. One in five of the A.T.S. have something to say about the tunic skirt and other components of their dress. Some particular items, for instance, corsets, are mentioned only by one camp. Complaints of the uniform per se are, however, universal and come for all camps investigated. An important complaint relates to the fact that the same uniform is worn for long periods, which is distasteful to many, and that the uniform is too hot to dance in with comfort.

The enforcement of drills and parades in what is considered free time is another important source of complaint, and associated with this is the undesirability of drills for some occupations, such as cooks, and for the older women.

Many of these complaints, as stated, relate to one or a few of the camps visited: this is particularly true of the complaints about amenities. Some camps are not sufficiently heated; the fires were not lit until 6 p.m. in October on cold days; and that there were not enough baths or that such baths as there were were too far away from the dormitory or hut.

Analysis of miscellaneous criticism: -

Have to work under men when they joined to replace them. Since military law was introduced we have as strict rules as the men without their privileges. Dislike being unable to go out with women officer friends, of different rank. Dislike of ban on going out with men officers. Would rather be at home. Would like opportunity to learn why some orders are given. Too many insults from the men. Resentful of attitude of soldiers. Have little respect from men. Dislike being on guard; long cold duty; long hours. Dislike camps. Some girls in billets while some have to stay at camp. Girls normally resident in nearby towns have to stay in camp while strangers may billet in town. Should be treated like women, not men. Vaccination. Ban on bright lipstick. Unhealthy way of wearing respirators, wearing across body leads to congestion of lungs. Dislike A.T.S, being treated as separate army. We should be credited with more commonsense than we are. Dislike N.C.Os course, waste of time. Women go too far with military discipline. Young girls should have more discipline outside barracks and more supervision in billets. No proper equipment for scrubbing and dusting. Dislike waiting on officers. Dislike officers not keeping proper times for meals. Too much unnecessary, aimless work. Dislike idea of officers retiring at 47. Dislike expense of being officer. Latrine too far from camp huts.

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Suggested improvements

Question 5. What suggestions have you for improving the things you do not like?

The suggestions for improvement, it will be seen, are outstanding or revolutionary when it is remembered that some relate to only one or two camps. The impression gained is that the A.T.S. is a normal and normally contented body of women, except perhaps with regard to the uniform and the question of promotion.

There is no fundamental objection to the uniform. In its essentials, the colour and design, it is accepted. What is required is attention to detail; that the tunic and skirt should match; that the tunic would be improved by the addition of a belt (like that of the W.A.A.F.) or by one of brown leather; that the skirt should be slightly shaped. It is believed that attention has already been given to such details, although it will obviously take some little time for every camp and barracks to be dealt with.

Some dissatisfaction is evident in the awarding of promotion. Nearly one in five of the suggestions relate to this.

Miscellaneous: The men should be made to understand that we are there to work and not for their amusement. - Men Sergeants should be separated from women and married men not allowed to take out single women regularly. - Would like place similar to Y.W.C.A. where they could sleep or rest when on leave and not at home. - would welcome opportunities of varied experience to avoid boredom - That girls could arrange a transfer to more congenial hut, so that refined girls could escape the hooligan element sometimes found. - That there should be more tools, especially for cleaning purposes (e.g. brushes, dusters, etc.)

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Public Opinion according to the A.T.S.

BAD

MIXED

CHANGING

GOOD

Question 6. What do you think is the general public opinion about the Service?

This question was incorporated to obtain the feeling of girls and women serving in the A.T.S, about public opinion of the Service.

Only 17% say that the public’s opinion about them is good; the remainder either qualify a bad opinion or make the statement that it is definitely bad.

This contrasts with the real state of public opinion as dealt with in Question 2 of the part relating to the general public, and with the feelings of potential entrants as shown in Question 4 of the first part of this report. It is shown there that although some entertain a bad opinion of the A.T.S., the opinion is not nearly so unprepossessing as that projected by the A.T.S. themselves. It is indicative of a deep feeling of inferiority.

There is no doubt that A.T.S. have had actual experience of an unpleasant character in their contacts with the public. We have cases cited of girls of the A.T.S. being pushed off the pavement while walking in the street, of unseemly remarks being passed in their hearing or shouted at them, and of the disdainful brushing of a sleeve on the part of women who have accidentally touched a member of the A.T.S. while in the street. There is no justification for supposing this has happened on any large scale, of course, but where it does happen it would naturally lead to the forbidding picture presented by these results. It is likely that much of it, however, has to do with a feeling of inferiority, especially in such matters as the uniform; and with the necessary adjustments carried out, and the perfecting of the organisation, the feeling will largely disappear.

It is to be remarked that, although nearly 4% say that public opinion about the A.T.S. is changing for the better, we have no single case where that public opinion is changing from good to bad. Any change noticed by the girls is a change for the better.

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Proportion of A.T.S. Personnel wishing to leave Service

Do not wish to leave

Wish to leave

Question 7: Would you like to leave, the. Service?

This is the acid test of contentment within the Service, and the answers go some way to correct the impression of the results of asking Question 4. It may well be asked whether the results would be trustworthy in view of the fact that they were obtained by a civilian investigator in a camp or barracks. This was anticipated, and it was made plain to each A.T.S. that she could speak candidly, for no third person was present at the interview, and no person other than the investigator would see the completed questionnaire, except the office staff, to whom in any case the questionnaire was quite anonymous. (It will be noted that the A.T.S. questionnaire does not ask for the name of the informant. Further, this question was asked at a late stage of the interview, by which time full confidence had been established between the investigator and the A.T.S.)

Still more evidence that the replies truly reflected the feelings of the A.T.S. personnel is to be found in the way they are put. Many of the replies consist of phrases like: “What a question!” “Of course, not”, “No, I am enjoying it too much”, and so on. It may be taken therefore that the replies are indeed representative and were by no means influenced by fear of any possible action by superior officers.

The findings show that 93% of A.T.S. personnel most decidedly want to continue in the Service. There is no evidence that any particular camp has a very much higher proportion of personnel wishing to leave, while roughly half of the camps visited in the course of the investigation show that not a single girl wished to leave. 3% were undecided.

The reasons for wishing to leave the A.T.S., given by 7.3% of personnel, are as follows:-

Some of these reasons for wishing to leave have nothing to do with the A.T.S. as a Service - they would be reasons for wishing to leave any Service. It is again to be regretted that permission was not given the Survey for making similar enquiries among the W.R.N.S, and the W.A.A.F., so that a comparable picture could be obtained from less criticised Services.

In the next question those who wished to leave were asked what they would like to do instead. The answers are as follows:

Question 8: If yes, (you do wish to leave the A.T.S.), what would you like to do instead?

The analysis of the answers to this question by the very few who wish to leave is as follows:-

These form into three main groups: (1) Economic - those who want to obtain more money, mostly for the sake of dependants; (2) those who feel they could be doing more skilled work; and (3) marriage.

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Reasons for leaving the A.T.S.

Question 9: If you know of other girls and women who have left the Service, what in your opinion was the reason?

This was incorporated into the Questionnaire at a time when permission was anticipated for similar inquiries to be made in the W.A.A.F. and the W.R.N.S. Such a question would yield little of value, if treated in isolation, but with comparable data from the sister Services it was hoped to obtain evidence to confirm or refute the charges of immorality and bad conduct against the A.T.S.

It is to be very much regretted that this permission was not forthcoming from either the Air Ministry or the Board of Admiralty, although every assistance was given the Survey by the A.T.S. Directorate,

It is therefore not possible to treat the results of this question statistically.

The only thing which can be said is that there is no evidence at all that the A.T.S. differs from any other human population in this respect, and the particular charges of immoral conduct against the A.T.S. do not appear to have any justification.

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Statements by A.T.S. Personnel on influence of advertising

Question 10:Did any advertisement or announcement help you to reach a decision about joining the Service?

The answers have been analysed by length of service as given in answer to Question 1.

It is shown that five, six or seven A.T.S. out of ten who have joined within the past six months have been helped by A.T.S, publicity to arrive at their decision. An interesting feature of the Table is the trend shown, the proportion of affirmative replies falling off with length of service. This may be due to one, or a combination of several factors. Memory falls off with lapse of time; the earlier volunteers by their nature were more likely to take sympathetic and definite action. On the other hand the volume of advertising has increased within recent months, and the quality and direction of that advertising has altered.

An extension to this question asked in which medium the publicity was met, Some question informants stated that more than one media had helped them to reach a decision, the average number of media being 1.4, The replies are analysed as follows, on a basis of total mentions.

The A.T.S. interviewed were also asked to give particular items they recollected. The analysis is as follows:

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A.T.S (PERSONNEL) INVESTIGATION:
CORRELATION OF PEACE TIME OCCUPATION A.T.S. OCCUPATION

Note. Housewife A-B= housewife of middle or upper class, Housewife C-D = housewife of working class. Distribution = engaged in distributed trades Including shop assistance. At Home A-E and C-D= otherwise unoccupied girls and women staying at home.