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W
omen also volunteered and served in a
non-combatant
role.Bythe end of the
war 80,000 had enlisted.They mostly served
as nurses in QueenAlexandra’s Imperial
Military Nursing Service (QAIMNS),the
FirstAid NursingYeomanry (FANY),the
VoluntaryAid Detachment (VAD) and
from 1917,in theArmy when the Queen
Mary’sArmyAuxiliary Corps (WAAC),was
founded. TheWAAC was divided into four
sections:cookery;mechanical;clerical and
miscellaneous.Most stayed on the Home
Front but around 9,000 served in France.
A group of land girls about to set out for work. Those
wearing a lighter uniform were dairy workers and
a darker uniform would usually indicate a land worker.
wom e n
’
s
d i r e c t
c o n t r i b u t i o n
t o
t h e
w a r
e f f o r t
24
from volunteering to conscription