UNDER THE CROSS - WHY VADS PERFORMED THE FILTHIEST TASK IN THE DIRTIEST WAR - RED-CROSS WOMEN VOLUNTEERS, 1914-1918

The history of V.A.D.s sheds a new light on the question of women's su bsumption into the general mobilisation for the Great War. It leads us to question the emancipating effect of the Great War. It shows that g ains such as ''women's suffrage'' or ''professional equity'' have litt le to do with the kind of emancipation, rich in emotional yields, whic h V.A.D.s sought and found in wartime service. The British Red Cross S ociety operated within a mixed economy. As a modern voluntary organisa tion, it cooperated in the rehabilitation of wounded soldiers on the l arge scale. But the society's appeal for volunteers drew from a symbol ic moral realm in which self sacrifice was a significant element. Simi larly, most V.A.D.s were young and imagined themselves as New Women. H owever, a moral predisposition to service allowed the V.A.D.s to accom modate routinized work into their own priorities. The work itself cont ained many affective elements. The erotic nature of caring for the wou nded men, the liberating effect of being under a matriarchy, are just some of the aspects which allowed the V.A.D.s to reap positive compens ations for their sacrifice.