Evening star., 1943-03-11
Evening Gowns Solve
Completely Of Rank
At Derry Dances
Enlisted Girls Don Silks,
While Their Officers
Keep Drob Uniforms
BY THOMAS r. HENRY,

StHf Stalt correspondent
LONDONDERRY by MalN -
Women's roles in the war are Great
ing some odd situations here.
For an officer to dance with a
private or for first lieutenant to
sip cocktails or walk in the moon
light with mere sergeant requires
some heavy camouflage.
Derry is fun Of women in the Brit
ish Services-ATS. WRENS, WAAFS
and half dozen other regularly en-
listed, uniformed groups who hold
ranks comparable to those in the
British Army and Navy. A lot of
those in the enlisted ranks are
daughters OF some of the foremost
families in England and Ireland
And it has been impossible to break
down altogether the distinctions of
rank between sexes.
Up to few weeks ago il was 2
British problem, purely. But it all
became complicated with the dedi-
cation Of the 100000 Allied Officers
Club here. 1t was built by the Brit
lSh Government and turned over to
the American sailors and marines
The commandant here at once
turned it over to all the services,
British and American, stationed
near Londonderry. Consequently
the weekly dances are attended bv
scores Of officers of both nations.
Girls, unless they are in uniform.
are hard to find.
Americans Had Choice.
An American officer, of course. was
free to take anybody he pleased.
uniformed or not and regardless of
rank, But il he escorted private
could his British friend dance with
her? And if she appeared out of
uniform she was in for trouble with
her own commanding officer. Strict
lE speaking. it would be against reg
ulatlons. and a dance would be
rather strained affair.
So the heads of the various serv-
Ices here got together. with the re-
suit that British service girls now
are allowed to appear in evening
dresses and their officer friends are
supposed to forget that they are in
the service, Women officers. how
ever, are required to appear in reeu-
latlon uniforms with the result that
they may cut rather drab figures on
the dance floor compared with the
elaborately gowned privates in their
companies.
No Hint of Conflict.
But the whole goes on without
mint OF any smouldering conflict of
ranks, and any humble little cor
poral can take away her captains
boy friend without-at least, so IT. is
sald-getting put on KIP for it the
next day. The code requires. how
ever, that the girls in evening
clothes speak only in whispers. if
at all. of the outfits to which thev
belong. 1t is not the male military
and naval officials of either service
who care. but their own officers.
WRENS and WAAFS here. bv the
way, really appear like soldiers and
sailors when on duty-the former
IN rough sailor garb handling little
boats on wind-tossed waters and
the latter-at least one company of
them on train out of Belfast
carrying heavy barracks bags over
their shoulders. 1t is difficult to
imagine the same girls in silks AT
dances
Get American Housing.
The women soldiers here were
housed up to a few weeks ago ey-
actly as were the men in the British
the uninsulated. palvan-
lzed iron Nelssen huts which were
developed by the British earlv in
the war The American base COM
mandant made himself about the
most popular man In Northern Ire
land by turning over to them on the
lease-lend arrangement some of the
new American Quonset huts, built
on the same principal as the Neis-
sens but much warmer because of
the wallboard lining and the insu-
latlng space between it and the iron
outer walls So naturally the
Americans stand high in the good
graces Of WRENS and WAAFS
This is fortunate because there
are no American girls near Derry
and even the great base hospital has
only men nurses. The idea. the COM