‘When that hour strikes danger, we sally forth’: women doctors at war, 1939–1945

Abstract

The experiences of British women doctors during the Second World War have, thus far, evaded critical attention. Drawing on eye-witness accounts and the rich archive of the Medical Women’s Federation (MWF), this article examines the work undertaken by women doctors both on the home front and overseas, and analyses the personal and professional difficulties which they faced during this defining period in history. On the home front, women doctors undertook a variety of additional responsibilities, working long hours with limited domestic help to ease the burden on civilian medical services. Opportunities for women doctors to practice frontline medicine were extremely limited between 1939 and 1945, and those who were selected to serve overseas with the Army often experienced prolonged periods of inactivity. In contrast, women doctors captured as prisoners of war in the Far East found themselves overwhelmed with the task of safeguarding the health of their fellow internees. In spite of the social, professional, and personal upheaval caused by the conflict, ingrained gender boundaries remained largely intact, limiting the scope of women doctors’ wartime contributions.