American Red Cross Clubmobile Service

[citation needed] The first Clubmobile was a British Ford, with a 700-watt and 10-horsepower engine, staffed with three American Red Cross women who traveled throughout Great Britain, beginning on October 22, 1942.

[4] After the first month of operation, the staffers requested that it would be standard for the vehicle to be supplied with records, gum, candy, cigarettes, and first aid kits to improve their services.

One side of the kitchen opened out for serving food and drinks, while the rear of the Clubmobile consisted of a "lounge" area with built-in benches that also doubled as sleeping bunks.

"[2][7] Red Cross recruiters considered reference letters, physical examinations, and personal interviews to ensure new volunteers were a good fit for their respective roles.

[2] The foremost duty of the American Red Cross women who volunteered their service on Clubmobiles was to lift the morale of homesick GIs overseas during World War II.

[9] In the case of the American Red Cross and its Clubmobile program, it is true that unemployed women could experience life outside the domestic sphere while making meaningful contributions to their country's war efforts.

It is additionally valuable to consider that as a result of the application process and requirements, the demographic of Clubmobile volunteers produced was quite uniform in that these women were "by and large, white, middle to upper class and formally educated.

"[2] Perhaps seeing the men around them abandon all of their pre-war obligations to join their country's armed forces in conjunction with great urges from the government to "do your part" was the catalyst in women flocking to the Red Cross as a medium for wartime work.