New VADs destined for military hospitals joined a detachment for one month’s probation, and if suitable, they signed a contract for a further six months service, receiving £20 per annum and a uniform allowance of £4. There were a variety of places where one could obtain a uniform, including the tailoring departments in posh stores …
Tag: voluntary aid detachment
WWI Wednesday: Becoming a VAD
Thanks to Vera Brittain and her memoir, Testament of Youth, the most enduring female image of WWI is the VAD. At the outbreak of war, there were already thousands of members of the voluntary organization, which had been founded in 1909 under the joint efforts of the British Red Cross Society and the St. John …
WWI Wednesday: The Women Who Drove Ambulances on the Western Front
The WWI Wednesday series, which I began to I present a peek at the WWI we don’t normally see in pop culture, has resulted in just as many surprises for me as it (hopefully) has for you! My favorite find has been the story of the ambulance corps made up of women drivers, who dared …