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The original was posted on /r/askhistorians by /u/quesoandcats on 2023-08-18 05:37:32+00:00.

In the film Battle of Britain, there is a scene where the male commander of an RAF base chastises a female WAAF officer for allowing her subordinates to use the “men’s trenches” during air raid drills. Shortly after this, the base is actually bombed and that same male officer takes shelter in a “women’s trench” with a group of WAAF personnel.

Were air raid facilities actually segregated by gender like this, and if so when did they finally become gender neutral? The thought of someone getting killed because they had to run an extra 50 feet to take cover in the “appropriate” trench is a little ridiculous