In the war on Covid-19 women have been fighting in the front line as equals alongside male colleagues. A tidal wave of national gratitude is reflected in the weekly applause we give for all National Health Service [NHS] members. The Covid-19 crisis is causing a major review and appreciation of NHS women’s status and role. In the First World War [1914-18] by 1918 a similar feeling had developed because of the role women played on the Home Front and in hospitals at home and abroad in the war with Germany and her allies. In November 1918 Devon’s main newspaper The Western Times published in its weekly roundup of news from the town and villages of Devon a poem that reflects this change in women’s role and status:
WOMAN EVERYWHERE
You may travel about by land or sea,
You may hire a motor or cob*,
Whatever the work or place may be,
There’s a woman on the job.
You think you’ll call on your tailor now,
And surprise at once is expressed,
When Phyllis appears with smile and bow,
And passes the tape round your chest.
You require a shave, drop in a chair,
And wait for the man to begin
When a sweet little flapper**, wondrous fair,
Pops out to lather your chin.
You stop in the street to speak to John,
And your heart gives a mighty throb,
When a musical voice says, “Please move on,”
Ugh! ‘tis woman on Bobby’s*** job.
* A horse ** A lively female jazz dancer *** Bobby – slang for policeman
(The author, Vigilo, a suffragette, lived in Washford Pyne some seven miles from Exeter)
Largely as a result of women’s key role in for four years in The First World War, in 1918 they won the right to vote in parliamentary elections, something they had been fighting for for over 50 years. In 2018 a 50p coin commemorated their victory. And what might women in future celebrate in recognition of their crucial role in the battle against Coronavirus aka Covid-19?
Jon Nichol
