War-Time Work For Women.

From Woman’s Weekly, April 17^th, 1917.

WAR-TIME WORK FOR WOMEN.

If you are Unable to do National Service Work on the Land, there is Plenty of other Urgent Work waiting to be Done.

WOMEN are urgently wanted to-day. There must be no "slackers."  Every healthy, capable woman must come forward to help the country at this time, either by making munitions, working on the land, or helping to keep up our industries.

Needless to say, the girl who has had a certain amount of experience or training stands the best chance of obtaining employment. That is why I would advise every girl who is thinking of working for the first time, or of obtaining a better position to ask herself whether there is any training open to her that would help her in the work she wishes to take up. Fortunately, at the technical institutes and evening classes it is possible to obtain, if not entirely free, training, at any rate, at a very low cost.

Thus the girl who wants to take up work where she is likely to have the handling of money or dealing with figures will undoubtedly find it an advantage when applying for a situation to be able to claim having taken an elementary course in bookkeeping or commercial arithmetic.

Below I am giving a list of some of the occupations in which there is the greatest demand for workers at the present time. Applications for work should in all cases be made at the local Labour Exchange. There are, however, other agencies through which employment can also be obtained, and where this is the case these addresses are given in addition.

 WHERE WOMEN ARE WANTED.

Army Cooks. --Applicants must he between the ages of 18 and 45. All candidates who are accepted are sent to a training centre at Dartford for a month. The pay is £20 a year in addition to board and lodging. Head cooks receive £40. Army Waitresses.—These are needed to wait upon the cadets and officers. Conditions similar to those for Army cooks. Apply to Mrs. Long, Women's Legion, Centre Block, Room 4, Duke of York's Headquarters, Chelsea, S.W.3.

Bakers.—These are wanted in increasing numbers both for day and night work. Applicants should be from about 18 to 25. The work, though rather heavy, is interesting. Advertisements frequently appear in the daily newspapers for such workers. There are two methods of training. One is to go to a baker's for a low wage, and "pick up" the work. The other, and more satisfactory method, is to obtain training at a polytechnic. Londoners can apply at The Borough Polytechnic Institute, Borough Road, S.E. Others can obtain the address of the nearest technical school from a post office.  

Creche and Day Nursery Work.—Girls between the ages of 16 and 24 are needed to train for this work. Training is, in some cases, given free; in others a small fee has to be paid. The work is strenuous and not highly paid; but the girl with a real love of babies will find her vocation here.  At the end of her training, a girl can either continue her work in the creche as a paid assistant, or obtain a position as lady nurse in a gentleman's family. Applications should be made to the Secretary, National Society of Day Nurseries, 4, Sydney Terrace, Chelsea, S.W.

Grocers’ Assistants. —There are plenty of openings here for quick, capable girls in all parts of the country. Applications can be made to the head offices of any of the large provision merchants. You will find their names and addresses in a commercial directory, which you can consult at any post office.

PLENTY OF CHOICE.

Optical Munitions. —This is skilled work, requiring training. Accepted candidates are, however, paid whilst they are learning. Applicants, who must be over 16, should apply to the Training Centre at the Northampton Polytechnic Institute, St. John's Street, E.C.  

Motor and Taxi Driving. -- Training, the fee for which is usually a few guineas, can be had at any of the motor schools. Taxi drivers must, in addition, undergo a final training in order to pass the special tests imposed by Scotland Yard. The preliminary licences for this final training have to be obtained from Scotland Yard.  

Mail-Cart Drivers and Grooms.—This work should specially appeal to country  women, as only those who are used to horses and know how to drive are wanted. Their work will be to drive the Royal Mail vans or to groom the horses. The pay is 30s. a week. Applications may be made to Miss Mckenzie, care of Messrs. McNamara and Co., 12, Castle Street, London, E.C.

Dental Mechanics. —Dentists are employing women in increasing numbers for the making of artificial teeth. The training is rather long, but workers are usually paid during this time. Advertisements for girls to train for this work can usually be seen in the dental papers. Applications can also be made by letter to any large manufacturing dentist. You will find a list of them in the Trades portion of a commercial directory, under the heading "Dentists' Material Makers."

Omnibus and Tramcar Conductors. —Applicants must be very strong and fairly tall. The work is strenuous, but the pay good, very often as much as two pounds a week. Applications can be made to the head offices of any of the omnibus and tramcar companies or councils.

Postwomen. —This work is heavy and entails early rising, but the workers have a good deal of free time in the middle of the day. Applications for local work to be made at the local Exchange, but for work under the G.P.O., at the City Labour Exchange, 9, New Bridge Street, London, E.C.

NO ROOM FOR "SLACKERS."

Railway Booking Clerks and Ticket Collectors. —Clerks must be ready reckoners, and all applicants must be of quick intelligence. Applications should be made to the head offices at the London termini stations of any of the large railway companies. Or those applicants living on the S.E. and Chatham Line can apply to Miss Strevitt, S.E. & C. Railway Training School, East Croydon.

Typewriter Mechanics.—Women can now train for the work of cleaning and repairing typewriters. The complete training takes three years, but within a few months girls can do quite useful work that up till quite recently has always been done by men. The workers are paid whilst they are learning, while the fully trained mechanic may expect anything from £2 to £5 a week. Applications can be made to the Remington Typewriter Co., 100, Gracechurch Street, London, E.C.

Warehouse Packers. —These are required by certain big firms for packing goods, such as jams and marmalade, etc., for the Army. Applications can be made to the big jam-makers and other large stores. 

Sweaters In Summer

From The Times, April 5th 1917

SWEATERS IN SUMMER. 

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES. 

Sir, — Not less than 1,000 letters lave reached me lately asking what comforts the writers shall knit for the men during the summer.  Will you give me room to answer?

Well, I have been asked by authority to give your readers a clear lead as to what is wanted, and I know I ask a hard-thing in doing it.  It seems that last year, we over-estimated the interval between the last cold night of spring and the first chills of autumn, and under-estimated the time required to get the things across the world in these days.  What is wanted is a vast store of warm comforts by—don't be startled—the end of July.  I am told that heavy knitting throughout the summer is contrary to custom and comfort.  Well, if so, we must dispense with both.  We can't compete with the men in those things whose daily story is our grief and pride abroad, but we can do what we don't want to do, and stick out a long, dull, un-timely job at home.

I think so gravely of what I have written above that I had almost forgotten to say how grateful I am for the continued kindness shown this venture during the past winter.  I was obliged to ask your readers for 10,000 sweaters in a month, and they came; and 10,000 mufflers to accompany them, and there they were.  The total number of sweaters received here to date is 38,106, and of supplementary comforts 34,223.  I feel especially grateful to the men in hospital who have been mindful of their brothers in the field, to the kind maids in many households who have given lavishly of their perhaps not too lavish spare time, and to two venerable ladies, pioneers of all good effort for soldier and sailor, who have found time and inclination to help this venture of to-day on behalf of the men they have served for half a century.

Part of your kindness is to keep the sudatorium smiling.  The palm for ingenuity is surely borne by the lady who left the germ of a muffler and a ball of wool in a railway waiting room with a message appended asking the next stranded lady to add a few inches to the work—whence a capital muffler arrived here in due season.  But all my sympathy goes out to the self-sacrifice of those male relatives commandeered for the hateful process of trying on.  Listen to this: "My father's head, which is very small and quite bald, seldom comes through the neck."  Oh, Sir, for these too infrequent triumphs my good wishes, and for the dreadful protracted occultations my sincere sympathy and the assurance that we now "pick up 76 round the neck."  But all round there has been a marked improvement in knitting.  My remarks on snakes' nightgowns did produce, per contra, a small crop of elephants' cummerbunds, but the real thing is now normal.

To recur to the one thing of importance.  With a restricted Press, it will. greatly help if ladies will make a point of passing the word along that sweaters, mufflers, helmets, mittens, and socks will be wanted in very large quantities by August 1, and that they should be sent, when the time draws near, either to the Voluntary Organizations Depôts throughout the country, or to the D.G.V.O.’s Depôt at 45, Horseferry-road, S.W., or to me as below.  I have plenty of patterns here if ladies would write for them, but I am afraid all the wool I have left will be wanted for men knitting in hospital.

Yours faithfully,

JOHN PENOYRE. 

8. King’s Bench Walk, Inner Temple, E.C.4.

April 4.