Photograph details

© Transport for London
Collection of London Transport Museum
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London Underground Railways and the London General Omnibus Comapny's 'farewell Social Gathering' at the People's Palace, Mile End. The event marked the efforts of both past and present 'Women War Workers', the women were presented with certificates of service. A women addresses a large crowd of women from a stage.

Photographed by Topical Press, 22 Oct 1919

Location: Mile End Road, Tower Hamlets E1

Image no: Ukn

Inventory no: 1998/43329

20th Century London caption: A woman takes the stage at the 'Farewell Social Gathering' at the People's Palace, Mile End on 22 October 1919. The event was organised by London Underground Railways and the London General Omnibus Company to mark the achievements of the women who worked for them during the war. The women were presented with certificates of service. The men returning from war were regarded as having the first right to employment, and their jobs had been kept open for them. The women were hired only temporarily, and most now lost their jobs in the transport companies. They had proved that they were more than capable of doing 'men's' jobs. A contemporary magazine for transport employees, the TOT, reported that 'one of London's most cheerful memories of the war [is] that of the alert and cheerful conductors who kept the trains and buses running'.

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