Window Cleaning Girl Power

Women window cleaners, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, 1917. These women worked for the City and Suburban Window Cleaning Company. George Webster, whose name is over the door (right), is listed in Kelly's 1916 Directory as ladder maker and manager of the Robin Hood Window Cleaning Company (premises on Peachey Street and Currant Street).

How girl power got Cambridge through the war years: The 100th anniversary of the First World War continues to yield many stories of the life and death struggle of men in the trenches – but it was pretty tough for women too, trying to keep everything going back home. With thousands of men fighting at the front, women were left to do not only their own work, but the men's work too.

Window cleaners set off to work in Piccadilly, London during World War I.

Females already made up a large part of the general workforce, although they were employed mostly in the textile industry, and in schools and hospitals. When war came, many worked in munitions factories. Some also joined the Women's Patrols, a female police force that went on the beat in public areas such as railway stations, streets, parks and public houses.

Note the women window cleaners in the centre image - click to enlarge.

And they became part of the armed forces as well. The War Office realised many of the tasks undertaken by soldiers in France could easily be done by women, so the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps was established in December 1916. A year later, the Women's Royal Naval Service was formed, and a year after that, the Women's Royal Air Force (later the Women's Auxiliary Air Force) was set up. In total, more than 100,000 women joined Britain's armed forces during the war.

The "Scavengers"

In Cambridge, as in London and other cities, two very obvious jobs once done only by men became the preserve of women. One was street sweeping. The women cleaners were known as 'scavengers' and went into action in 1918, although as our photo here of women working in Cambridge in 1918 shows, their clothing wasn't initially very suitable. Dustcarts were generally pulled by horses, but since many of them had been sent off to war too, Cambridge's corporation spent £3,000 on what the News reported were “two large electric motor vehicles and two small petrol motor vehicles for the collection of household refuse."

Click to enlarge.

Another task was window-cleaning. The News reported in 1916: “The Cambridge Window Cleaning Company, owing to a shortage of male labour, have instituted a service of lady cleaners. And jolly smart they look too in their khaki uniform, high gaiters and caps, relieved by red wrist and cap bands. Ladder climbing causes them no qualms and they are quite expert at the work. They are causing no small amount of interest not to say admiration."

A female worker of the Mayfair Window Cleaning Company, London. Circa 1916.

Window Cleaners Among WWI Bravest

Window cleaners 'among WWI bravest'

Window cleaners 'among WWI bravest'- Teachers, window cleaners and cotton workers have been identified as among the "bravest" professions during the First World War, according to a study. Online history website Ancestry.co.uk said an analysis of 2.8 million service records from 1914-20 highlighted how ordinary workers with barely any military training risked their lives on the front line. Most medal winners were miners or agricultural labourers, but professions such as teaching and window cleaning featured strongly, said the report.

Fishermen, doctors, barbers and policemen were also named among the top 10 professions for medal winners, said Ancestry. Content manager Miriam Silverman said: "While teachers, doctors or policemen may have had skills or leadership qualities that could have prepared them better for the front line, what this data really tells us is that it was the ordinary men with everyday professions that made some of the most extraordinary heroes."

Teachers and Window Cleaners Braver Than Bankers, Says Study - Teachers and window cleaners were braver than bankers, according to a study of wartime records. Studies showed school masters received the most military medals per head for their role on the war.

Window cleaners, cotton mill workers and fishermen also ranked in the top 10 for the bravest professions, according to family history website Ancestry, which studied 2.8 million services records to compile the list. Ancestry tallied the number of Military Cross, Distinguished Conduct Medal, Victoria Cross and Meritorious Service Medal winners against the number of people in work in 1911.

Ancestry's Miriam Silverman said: "While teachers, doctors and policemen may have had the skills or leadership qualities that could have prepared them better for the frontline, what this data really tells us is that it was the ordinary men with everyday professions that made some of the most extraordinary heroes." While teachers today might be used to battling students sat at the back row, they were at their most formidable and bravest on the front line during World War One.

Top 10 bravest professions:

1. Teacher 2. Window cleaner 3. Cotton mill worker 4. Fisherman 5. Doctor

6. Servant 7. Barber 8. Merchant 9. Police officer 10. Banker

Window cleaners and teachers - the 'bravest' professions of WW1 - Window cleaners and teachers were more likely than those of any other profession serving in the British armed forces in the First World War to be decorated for bravery, research finds.