the role of women in the second world war.

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Lorna Salmond

The role of women in the Second World War

Question 1

Source A is a cartoon in the British magazine " Punch". It was drawn in the Second World War. It was drawn to mock the establishment and the government. The picture is a primary source as it was drawn at the time. Punch is a satirical magazine.

The purpose of the picture is to make people laugh at the government’s decision to introduce conscription for all women. The artist appears to believe that many women would not have been able to do the jobs. The audience would of been well educated and professional people. Conscription was introduced in April 1941 and the picture was probably drawn shortly after this.

Source A is reliable in some ways because it was drawn at the time of conscription and it may reflect what people were thinking at the time. In other ways it is not reliable as it might of been exaggerated. It is not a photograph and it is an artist’s impression. In the picture the man is asking if she has had any experience in agricultural work but it is clear that she hasn’t by the way that she is dressed. In the picture she has a stupid posh and expensive hat on, She is wearing a fox around her neck. She looks like she is a rich women and has most probably never done a days work in her life. She probably has servants to do her house chores so she can do as she pleases during the day.

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Many people were sexist towards women and thought that they would not be capable to do the jobs they were being asked to do and this cartoon appears to show this.

Source B is a picture drawn by Joan Seephat who served in the royal engineers in the british army during the war. It shows women starting training and after they had been trained up.

The purpose of the picture is to show what women looked like when they had just started training and what they looked like after they had been trained up.

In some ways source B ...

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