AMAZON DEFENCE CORPS, 1940
In May 1940, the Home Guard was established in Britain as a civilian ‘last line of defence’ against German invasion. This voluntary organisation was mainly made up of men who were unfit or ineligible for military service. Women were prevented from joining the Home Guard until 1943 (and even then were only recruited in non-combatant roles), so many created their own ‘uno�cial’ defence groups. Here, women of the Amazon Defence Corps are being given weapons training, with canes, sticks and umbrellas standing in for rifles.