Page 121 - The Light Dragoon 2024

The Regimental Journal of The Light Dragoons
From Petticoats to the Front Line: The History of women in the British Army
The history of women in the British Army is a tale of resilience, determi- nation, and evolving societal attitudes. Throughout the centuries, women have played crucial roles in supporting the military, although their direct partici- pation in combat has been a more recent development.
In the early days, women’s involvement in the military was often unofficial and limited to auxiliary roles. During times of war, women took on responsibilities such as nursing, cooking, and laundering for the soldiers. Although war was seen as man’s work it didn’t stop some women
from disguising themselves in order to take part. In December 1814 the Manchester Herald ran a story about a middle-aged woman, the daughter of a bricklayer, who as a child had been in the habit of wearing boy’s clothes. At the age of fourteen she enlisted in the 15th Light Dragoons as William Roberts and turned out to have a talent for soldiering, reaching the rank of sergeant. ‘Probably her extreme youth and healthy appearance might occasion a laxity of attention, for she passed muster without her sex being discovered. In the course of two months, she learned her exercise sufficiently for all the purposes of parade; the rough riding-master declaring
her the best rider in the squad of recruits with whom she was taught.’ (Manchester Herald, December 1814) She served in the regiment for twenty-one years reaching the rank of sergeant without being discovered.
During the early 1900s, several volunteer groups for women were established, including the Women’s Emergency Corps and the Women’s Land Army but it was not until the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 that the debate on women’s roles in conflict began. Due to the economic strain of the war, women were already working on the Home Front, but they were eager to play a bigger role. The British government
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