Women who worked on the nation's canals during the Second World War have staged their first reunion since the end of hostilities (UK)
More than 60 years after the end of the war, a plaque dedicated to the women was unveiled by the Grand Union Canal next to the National Waterways Museum in Stoke Bruerne, Northamptonshire.
The ceremony was led by Roger Hanbury, chief executive of the Waterways Trust, on a morning of carnival atmosphere, which featured wartime songs and Union Jack flags draped from surrounding windows.
Four of the surviving "Idle Women" - the canal equivalent of the Land Girls - attended the event. Their name came from the initials IW, standing for Inland Waterways, on the badges they wore as they carried out their duties.
They were recruited to fill in for men who had gone to war, transporting coal and munitions across the UK by barge. The "idle" tag was at first an insult aimed at the women by long-standing boatmen, but the girls adopted it -- and worked hard for the war effort.
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The ceremony was led by Roger Hanbury, chief executive of the Waterways Trust, on a morning of carnival atmosphere, which featured wartime songs and Union Jack flags draped from surrounding windows.
Four of the surviving "Idle Women" - the canal equivalent of the Land Girls - attended the event. Their name came from the initials IW, standing for Inland Waterways, on the badges they wore as they carried out their duties.
They were recruited to fill in for men who had gone to war, transporting coal and munitions across the UK by barge. The "idle" tag was at first an insult aimed at the women by long-standing boatmen, but the girls adopted it -- and worked hard for the war effort.