Guest Post: Women at Work During WWII

Today I have for you a Guest Post by Christopher Geoffery McPherson so I'm going to go ahead and hand it over to him! Enjoy and don't forget to enter the giveaway :) 

Women at Work During War World Two

When I began working on the story that would eventually become my novel "News on the Home Front," I thought it important that it include two specific elements: how women at home dealt with the changes that came during the war years -- rationing, divided families, death of loved ones, etc.; and the role of women in the workforce. For my main characters, I chose women of means rather than middle-class women because it would allow my story a little more flexibility. So, while the characters Carole and Irene are neither middle class nor poor, the war still affected them -- just like it did every other person in America at the time.

Emerging from the crippling economic depression of the 1930s, America during the war saw many changes, perhaps none so dramatic as the entry of more than six million additional women into the workforce to replace men needed in the fighting overseas. Women in the workplace were nothing new: many women worked outside the home prior to the war. What changed was the necessity for women to work.  No longer was it a choice made by a specific woman or her family; now, there were jobs that needed to be done with no men available to do them. The only option, then, was women.

In doing my extensive research for "News on the Home Front," I was struck by just how much women contributed to the war effort. There were the obvious examples of women working in the aircraft factories building planes (as Irene does), but also women who organized neighbors to knit socks for soldiers, to work with the Red Cross to roll bandages to be used overseas, and to organize not only the many scrap drives that occurred during the war (metal, rubber, paper) but also drives to collect books and games that were shipped to soldiers so they would have additional recreational activities. I don't think it any exaggeration to say that many mountains were moved by the force of women working separately and together during the war.

Keep in mind that there was a price to be paid for women being in the workplace. Among others, this price included families breaking apart because neither parent was home (father overseas, mother in the aircraft factory) leaving juvenile delinquency to become a problem in many cities. In addition, there was the problem of women being forced to quit their jobs once men came back home -- an issue also addressed in my novel.

Clearly, though, the work women provided was a vital part of America winning the war and it is to them that "News on the Home Front" is dedicated.

In my research, I came across three radio episodes that illustrate some of the affects of women at war:

The first is an episode of "An American in England" from 1942 called "Women of Britain." Although this looks at the role of women in England rather than America, the situation there was identical to here in the states. 

The second and third, from 1942 and 1943, are from the top-rated radio comedy "Fibber McGee and Molly" and look at the swift replacement of men by women workers and how unexpected that was for so many people. 

You can hear "An American in England" here

You can hear "Fibber McGee and Molly" here and here.

If you have any stories of women in the workplace during World War Two, I would love to hear from you.  Please email me at NewsOnTheHomeFront  (at) Yahoo.com

Giveaway

an e-copy of News on the Home Front

fill out the rafflecopter to enter

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Indie Revolution: News on the Home Front

Today I introduce you to Christopher Geoffrey McPherson, author of News on the Home Front!  We are going to start off with a little introduction of the book along with an excerpt and then tomorrow I will share with you an awesome guest post!  And as always don't forget to get in on the giveaway at the bottom of the post! 

Set against a worldwide canvas that includes New York, Paris and Germany "News on the Home Front" tells the story of two women who have been friends since their childhood in West Lake, Maryland. The world war has torn apart their lives leaving each trying to find a way to put it back together. It's been a difficult few years with rationing and shortages starting to take their toll. Carole's boyfriend, Philip, is off to fly for the Army; and Irene has taken a job at the nearby aircraft factory. Carole promised Philip that she would wait for his return from the war -- but circumstances begin to conspire against her. She's waited her whole life for him, but can she make it until the end of the war?

Excerpt 

In this excerpt from the World War Two novel "News on the Home Front," Irene is on her way to the aircraft factory where she has taken a job during the war. Her best friend, Carole, is at home, recovering from an accident. Carole's fiancé, Philip, is about to be shipped overseas.

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The sleek Rolls pulled away from the Trent estate just outside West Lake as the snow fell lightly around them. Secured and warm in the back of the light grey car, Irene huddled in one corner, her shaved-beaver jacket crumpled close to her bare neck. She turned her head and looked out the steamed windows as the scenery passed by. She sighed heavily as she thought of the holidays just past and her friend, still asleep from the heavy sedative, in the house. She turned away from the window, adjusted her left glove, tightening it around the base of her fingers, one finger at a time.

As the car wended its way through the snow-covered roadway, bypassing the city of Baltimore, she thought sadly about returning to her job. It was not the job which made her sad, it was the thought of another sad Christmas behind her which dampened her spirits. When she left the house this morning she could not bring herself to look at the gaily decorated Christmas tree secure in its own little corner of the huge living room. It hurt too much. At Philip's request, Irene had agreed to stay at the estate for a while until Carole fully recovered from the injuries. After her car dropped her at the plant, she would have the driver go home to assist the maid in packing several bags of her things. Philip suggested Irene take a few days off from work, but Irene refused. Thinking of the women at the plant where she worked, she would feel guilty and not very patriotic if she took even one day off. There had not been one absence by any of the women in her plant for the past 150 days. Carole was in good hands; the plant needed Irene.

And it felt good to be needed. She turned her gaze back to the window and the scenery passing by, thinking of how long it had been since she had been needed by anyone. It had been too long. When word came women were needed to fill in for the men in the military at the factories and plants, she went right down to the first factory she came to and volunteered for work. They needed women for the swing shift and she agreed. Today, however, she had been asked to work day shift. It was a change which threw off her timing. She bristled, at first, at the thought of working in a plant. Her father and brother had been dead for several months; she looked at this opportunity (any opportunity, really) to get out of the house as a godsend. But, a factory?

When she had seen how much she could do for the war effort, however, all doubts she might have had quickly left her mind as she took off her silk jacket, threw it into the assigned locker and got to work. Now, after all these months, she was an important member of a team. A vital member of the working class. She was proud to earn a paycheck. The money left to her by her father and from her brother's insurance was all fine and good; but, to earn a paycheck was different. It qualified her to be a member of society now. And she was proud of it.

Author Bio: I was one of those kids always noodling with words, writing nonsense stories and animal adventures. I got a serious case of the word flu when I was asked to write an article for my high school newspaper. It's a disease from which I have yet to recover. 

In the intervening years, my work has appeared in daily newspapers, monthly magazines, extensively on radio -- and the occasional dalliance with television. I have written advertising copy and radio commercials. There is a bucket filled with awards sitting in my garage and I continue to write, write, write. 

Also featuring my byline are "Forever -- and other stories" a collection of short stories, "The Life Line" the novel of the big one that levels San Francisco, "News on the Home Front" a novel of two friends during World War Two, and "Mama Cat" a book for children. Also, several short plays, a few radio plays and a boat load of radio documentaries. I am currently working on a novel of Paris in the 1920s. 

Giveaway

an e-copy of News on the Home Front

fill out the rafflecopter to enter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Indie Revolution: Upcoming Week

I just wanted to do a short post about what to expect from the blog this week.  It's basically going to be Indie Revolution on steroids!!!  Check out this author line up for just this week and there will be awesome giveaways with every post!!!

Nyrae Dawn author of What a Boy Wants

Michelle Pennington author of Candid

Christopher Geoffery McPherson author of News on the Home Front

Solitaire Parke author of The Emerald Dragon

Colleen Hoover author of Slammed

Ariana Zamora author of The Dreamer

and to end the week/month with a boom we got A.M. Hargrove author of Determinant

Don't miss out on this awesome week! There will be posts each day so don't forget to check back and enter all of these giveaways!