Army Girls

Book excerpt: Army Girls tells the unique and compelling story of the women who lived and fought during the Second World War. It is a celebration of the phenomenal achievements of women who gave everything to their country and joined the armed forces at the outbreak of war. At long last, the story of their service will be heard, interwoven with events and precious moments from 1939-45. Commemorating the 80th anniversary of the Conscription Act which then allowed British women to enter service into the armed forces, it the final chance to hear the incredible true stories from some of the very last living female veterans of the conflict, who capture a pivotal moment in British history from a woman's perspective. Army Girls is about belonging, resilience, gender, fear, life and death. More than any other oral history from veterans of WWII published, this one is bedded in the present day, too. The Coronavirus pandemic has shaped the last year of these women's lives, there are both parallels and paradoxes. War was about opportunity and comradery, Covid is isolation and resilience, where memory and nostalgia play an even bigger role. This book is a fitting tribute to them all - the living and the dead.