Ruby Loftus screwing a Breech-ring

During the Second World War women entered industrial production in very large numbers to replace men away fighting. Nevertheless men continued to occupy the most highly skilled factory jobs. Despite introducing conscription into war work or the services for young single women in December 1941, the British government had problems with the recruitment and retention of women in industry. The Ministry of Supply recommended Ruby Loftus to the War Artists Advisory Committee (WAAC) as a subject. Loftus worked at the Royal Ordnance Factory in Newport. At twenty-one, and with no previous industrial experience, she had mastered the complex skill of making a breech-ring for the Bofors gun. Any mistake could make the gun highly dangerous. In late 1942 Laura Knight was commissioned to paint Loftus, who as a result quickly became something of a celebrity. The choice of Knight was apt: she too was succeeding in a traditionally male environment. This underlines, however, the tendency for successful women to be singled out as exceptional, with the implication that few were capable of such success. Knight presents a glamorous role model, but not the gritty reality of women’s war work.