A Member of the West Indies Auxiliary Territorial Service, c.1943 (b/w photo)

A small contingent of Caribbean women served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) during World War Two, both in Britain and the United States. The first women recruited worked as cooks, clerks and storekeepers. As time went on the range of duties expanded and women served as office, mess and telephone orderlies, drivers, postal workers and ammunition inspectors. Women were not allowed to fight in battle but as more and more men were called overseas to serve, their duties extended to include radar operators, military police, gun crews, and many other operational support tasks. By June 1945, there were over 190,000 members of the ATS from all across the British Empire.