WOMEN IN UNIFORM Nearly half a million women served in the forces during the Second World War. By the time war was declared, some 20,000 women had already volunteered for the auxiliary forces. In the very early days, there was little provision for any form of training. The jobs open to women were limited therefore to those involving skills which female volunteers might be expected to possess already, for example, Cooks, Orderlies, Clerical workers and a few Drivers. WOMENS LAND ARMY Many 'town girls', eager for a taste of country life were lured to the land by jolly posters advertising a healthy, rustic, yet patriotic life, in contrast to living in the bombed out towns and cities. Like most town dwellers, they viewed the country as a land of milk and honey and of cream and eggs. Reality was often far from these idyllic images. Womens Land Army WOMEN IN INDUSTRY The dramatic expansion of Britain's armed forces in the Second World War from a peacetime strength of 480,000 to a peak of 5,090,000 meant that large numbers of women were needed to turn out the arms and equipment.