More Info →Newspaper Article: Duties Outlined: Work of girls chosen to serve in the Middle East - How they were chosen

DUTIES OUTLINED

Work Of Girls To Serve In
Middle East

HOW THEY WERE CHOSEN

The circumstances under which 30
young women were chosen for service
with the New Zealand forces in the
Middle East, and an outline of their
duties, were made public yesterday by
the two members of the committee of
the Women’s War Service Auxiliary
responsible for their selection. They
were Mrs. H. Jowett and Miss Amy
Kane, members of the Dominion
executive of the auxiliary, who were
asked to undertake this work as they
are unattached to any district com-
mittee. They accomplished their task
in 10 days, traversing New Zealand
from Auckland to Invercargill in that
time, interviewing 100 girls attached
to the W.W.S.A. and affiliated bodies.
They said that there was no time
to call for applications all over New
Zealand, so the presidents of most of
the branches of the auxiliary were
asked to select from their registers
young women who were suitable and
available at such short notice, and
who had been registered since June 30
last. The final selection was made by
the full executive committee. Several
of those chosen failed in a strict medi-
cal test, and the 30 finally decided
upon were now receiving inoculation
and were preparing for their de-
parture.
The girls are mostly between the
ages of 25 and 30 years, but include
one or two younger and older; they
are unmarried, and are described as
thoroughly capable, sensible and at-
tractive. Many of them are daughters
of soldiers of the last war, and others
have relations serving in the New Zea-
land Expeditionary Force. Their
travelling uniform will consist of a
khaki costume, with tunic and skirt
and wide-brimmed khaki felt hat. They
will be provided with a working uni-
form suitable for the climate when
they arrive.
The girls will be under the direct
control of Major-General Freyberg,
and their discipline will probably be
similar to that under which nurses are
controlled. They undertake to serve
for a period of one year, and if they
marry when in service will not be re-
tained. They will mess together and
be accommodated on military lines.
Their duties, as far is known, will be
work of supervision in canteens, office
work, library work, and work in re-
ceptionist, booking and information
bureau capacities.
Some of the selection work was
undertaken by Mrs. Carlyon, of the
Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, which
is affiliated to the W.W.S.A. She ex-
amined girls in Taranaki and Wanga-
nui.
Mrs Jowett and Miss Kane empha-
sized that the Women’s War Service
Auxiliary was the official New Zea-
land body for organizing women for
war service at home and aboard. They
both stated that the girls chosen were
fine examples of the average New Zea-
land woman.