Women in transport
Women have been driving motor vehicles for pleasure and for work ever since the invention of the car. |
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During both World War 1 and World War 2, women increasingly were employed to drive buses and trucks as they filled the jobs left by men who were on military duty. Women became bus drivers and conductors, known affectionately as ‘Clippies’ due to the practice of clipping of passengers' tickets. |
This photograph shows a conductor during World War 2. Notice the metal helmet on her back and the ticket holder she is carrying. Before the advent of a ticket machine, different value tickets were stacked in rows in these holders to be issued to passengers. |
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Wealthier women often had the opportunity to drive cars before World War 2 and this his skill was much needed during the war when they were required to drive farm machinery, commercial vehicles, ambulances, and relief vehicles, as well as buses. |
The war also saw new roles for women in factories building and repairing buses and trucks for civilian and military use. |
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This period of history is still very much in living memory and could be a starting point for a reminiscence group or local history group to start collecting and recording the stories and memories prompted by these photographs. Did you work on public transport during the war? Was it a new job to help out with the shortage of workers? Did you travel on public transport during the war?
