In 1921 the Women’s Section of the British Legion was formed to safeguard the interests of the widows of servicemen, female service personnel and their families. When it was founded there was a need for such provision, but the men running the British Legion were not keen to have women involved in their day to day running of the legion so a semi-autonomous branch of the organisation devoted to women and families was founded instead.

Membership of the Women’s Section increased during and immediately after the Second World War as more of the nation either served or had family members serving and the role of the Women’s Section became more directly relevant to them. Today we are looking at a membership card given to one woman who joined the Women’s Section during World War II:

The card was issued on 28th May 1941 to a Pauline Pritchard who became a member of the West Hill branch. This branch is in Ottery St Mary, Devon and is still in operation today although the male and female branches have been combined into one entity now.