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Wartime bravery of ambulance women revealed in photos

London Ambulance Service Ann Armitage and Betty Leverton looking at the camera. Anne has dark, short hair and wears a cap. Betty is taller and has curled blonde hair and wears a cap.London Ambulance Service
Ann Armitage and Betty Leverton dodged burning oil spills to save people trapped after German planes dropped bombs on London's East End, the LAS said

The bravery of women who risked their lives rescuing injured civilians in wartime London has been highlighted in newly unearthed photographs.

The London Ambulance Service has released the images of women who worked as paramedics, ambulance drivers and mechanics in World War Two to mark International Women's Day.

One snapshot shows Ann Armitage and Betty Leverton who served in the London Auxiliary Ambulance Service (LAAS), which was set up to provide extra support during WW2.

In their wooden ambulance, the pair drove through an oil spill on fire to reach people trapped and injured after bombs fells on London's East End.

London Ambulance Service (LAS) said the women made five separate journeys to rescue all who needed it, despite the danger they faced.

They were later awarded British Empire Medals for their bravery.

The photographs were found recently in storage at the LAS, along with records showing more than five thousand women volunteered for the service during WW2.

London Ambulance Service Women completing casualty training in gas masks during World War IILondon Ambulance Service
London Ambulance Service Four women standing, looking at the camera, wearing gas protection suits which appear as though made of tin foilLondon Ambulance Service
Women trained while wearing gas masks in WW2
Gas protection outfits were worn by ambulance workers during WW2

The records are now being documented and the LAS is seeking advice from museums on how best to archive them.

Craig Henty, head of the historic collection at the LAS said the service was "beginning to learn the stories of many courageous women who took on frontline roles.

"They were working 24-hour shifts and would find themselves putting out fires, clearing debris and climbing unstable buildings to rescue the injured and recover the dead."

London Ambulance service Two women in an old ambulance look at the camera while two women stand outside it looking at the camera, in uniformLondon Ambulance service
In 1917, During World War One, Bloomsbury Ambulance Station was staffed entirely by women, the LAS record show

During both world wars, many services were largely run by women, as a large number of men fought with the armed forces.

Women in London were first recorded working on ambulances during World War One, with Bloomsbury Station staffed entirely by women.

They were largely asked to step aside when men returned from service in peacetime.

However, women currently make up 53% of the workforce at the LAS, and 44% of its managers are female, the service said.

They include its chief paramedic Pauline Cranmer, who became the first women to appointed in the role in the UK.

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