Tucker’s striking watercolour shows four women
of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) reading
letters apparently in a hut at an army camp.
Tucker was a successful exhibiting artist and
teacher whose work is marked by colourful
slightly stylised figures.
The ATS was the women’s branch of the British
Army, formed in 1938. The National Service Act
of 1941 called up unmarried women between 20
and 30 to join one of the forces auxiliary services
or take up factory work and by the end of the war
there were over 190,000 ATS members. Their
duties included working as drivers, radar operators, anti-aircraft and searchlight crew and supporting roles with the regular army. Over 700
lost their lives during the war.
We are grateful to John Noott of John Noott Galleries and Malcolm Rogers for assistance with the catalogue note.
