Mothers told their daughters what they had done during the war, and how their horizons had been limited afterwards. They could not fly aircraft, command ships or fire weapons. Permanent Women’s Services had been created the previous year, with a primarily supporting role. The Women’s Land Army continued until 1950 – due to post-war food shortages. Trade unions still defended higher wages for men, despite an increase in women’s union membership. By 1951 the number of working women had returned almost to the pre-war level and a bar on married women working continued in many jobs. The government encouraged a return to domesticity. As after WW1, there was an assumption that their temporary roles had been specifically linked to wartime. Women were praised for their wartime work, but expected to make way for the returning troops. Once the jubilation at war's end had subsided, did women have anything else to celebrate?
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