Here is a photograph of a group of service women from the WAC (Women’s Auxiliary Corps) in 1940s Delhi. As you can see, they’re posing on a sightseeing tour of the ‘Red Fort’. Perhaps a good photo op. showcasing the benefits of working in/with the WAC.
As I mentioned previously, Delhi was a key location in the India-Burma Theatre during the war. Since men were sent to the front, women took up roles that were vacant and became clerks, cooks, wireless operators (or whichever non-combatant roles that were there). The WAC was actually an Indian formation composed of Indian and European women. As you can imagine, their numbers were never great owing to caste and religious considerations amongst Indians or the fact that there wasn’t a sizable number of European women living in India in the first place.
Nevertheless, the presence of such service women (and also American GIs) changed the character of Delhi. You can see that the women in the picture were on a tour of some kind. Indeed, guides on the city written at this time reveal how Delhi transformed itself to adjust to a war economy. They begin to mention what one could do in terms of entertainment, food and sightseeing in the city, explicitly geared towards such people. Therefore, coffee shops, bars and restaurants, hotels, guided tours and shopping areas are all highlighted for the benefit of the newcomers and war personnel. I’m going to write more about this in the coming weeks, starting with one of the guides that was issued to servicemen.
See you next Friday.
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