During World War II, Britain developed the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) allowing women to contribute to the war effort by performing various tasks, such as driving trucks, digging roads, filling sandbags and serving on searchlight and anti-aircraft sites. Toward the midpoint of the war Poland developed its own ATS unit, known as the Pestki or Polish ATS, which trained with the British forces. Included among the groups numbers were volunteers of Polish descent from the United States and Canada, such as Emilia Kosciuk, future wife of M. Emil Pankiewicz. According to the above membership card, issued in 1945, Ms. Kosciuk held the rank of 2nd Lieutenant while enrolled in the group.
[Milwaukee Manuscript Collection 71 and Milwaukee Micro Collection 36: Box 1, Folder 4]
