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The women who joined at first wore white armbands. They met regularly for
parades and classes in the evening, as many of them were working girls. In
June 1942, the women were told that they would be wearing khaki uniforms.
Only women who had attended classes for three months regularly could obtain
the uniforms. They had to pay one pound (money) towards the cost of their
uniform.
The members of the WWSA were drilled and marched and instructed in the
handling and firing of a gun. They sometimes went on route marches with the
local area Home Guard. They were trained in Emergency Precautions drill and
often answered the fire siren or reported for action at an Emergency
Precaution Service post. First Aid was taught and those women who were
interested in motor vehicles went through a course of motor vehicle
maintenance.
The women wore shoulder badges that showed which branch of the WWSA they
belonged to. Some were responsible for running the Canteen at local army
bases. Others helped run the Patriotic shop.
Some of the women in the WWSA joined branches of the armed services. The
women who joined the Womens' Auxiliary Army Corps were taken into branches
of signalling and artillery (guns). They were trained in range-finding,
map-reading, the use of searchlights and anti-aircraft guns. By July of
1943, 4600 women had joined the WAAC.
Those women who joined the Womens' Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) were trained
as equipment assistants, teleprinter operators, medical orderlies, wireless
operators and the drivers of a wide range of vehicles. By August 1943, 4000
women had joined the WAAF service.
Some women went to sea in the Womens' Royal Naval Service (WRNS). Their had
duties to do on naval launches in Auckland Harbour. There were 500 women in
the WRNS by October 1944.
The women who joined the WWSA wanted to help in the war effort and "do
their bit". They came from a wide variety of backgrounds and developed many
new skills. There were WWSA units all over New Zealand, but particularly in
big cities like Christchurch and Auckland. They were also found in rural
areas near Army camps such as at Pukekohe.
This material has been produced by UNITEC Institute of Technology
under contract to the Ministry of Education.
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