BETWEEN July and September in 1939 the Keighley section of the Women’s Voluntary Services (WVS) enrolled 364 new members; by the end of the year the number would have risen to 573.
Their duties ranged from clerical and Air Raid Precautions to helping with evacuees, driving ambulances and serving in canteens and hospitals.
An initial 78 ladies set up a Hospital Supply Depot in the Conservative rooms in Cooke Lane, preparing surgical dressings and raising funds through bring-and-buy sales. Here are some of the members outside their base in 1941.
This was one of the war workplaces visited by the Princess Royal during Wings for Victory Week in 1943. She visited the Keighley WVS again in 1945 when members opened a gift shop to collect household goods and furniture for blitzed families in London.
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