The Girls Who Went to War: Heroism, heartache and happiness in the wartime women's forces
Duncan Barrett, Nuala Calvi
Language: English
Pages: 353
ISBN: B00KFDVT3O
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
The personal accounts of three young women who joined up in 1940.
In the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone against Germany. The British Army stood at just over one and a half million men, while the Germans had three times that many, and a population almost twice the size of ours from which to draw new waves of soldiers. Clearly, in the fight against Hitler, manpower alone wasn’t going to be enough.
Eighteen-year-old Jessie Ward defied her mother to join the ATS, Margery Pott signed up for the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force, and nanny Kathleen Skin the WRNS. They left quiet homes for the rigours of training, the camaraderie of the young women who worked together so closely and to face a war that would change their lives for ever.
Overall, more than half a million women served in the armed forces during the Second World War. This book tells the story of just three of them – one from the Army, one from the Navy and one from the Air Force. But in their stories are reflected the lives of hundreds of thousands of others like them – ordinary girls who went to war, wearing their uniforms with pride.
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Launched into the nativity story. The boys and girls sat attentively as she told them all about the bright star in the night sky, and the wise men and the shepherds visiting baby Jesus. At the end of the class, Kathleen went up to the teacher and asked her about the little blond boy. ‘It’s terrible, isn’t it?’ the other woman told her. ‘He comes in like that every morning, and he’s never had a bite to eat. I’ve started sending him home with sandwiches and cake, so at least he has something for.
For good this time. But when Raymond was shopping for his wedding outfit he collapsed again, and was rushed to a local hospital. This time, it was clear he wasn’t going to recover. Kathleen obtained special permission for the two of them to be married at his bedside. A few days later, Raymond was dead. The autopsy revealed that his body had been riddled with cancer, and it was a miracle he had survived so long. Instead of organising their wedding in Kuala Lumpur, Kathleen found herself helping.
Lying on its side on the grass, it looked like a giant beached whale, but as Margery watched, the crumpled surface began to ripple and grow taut, until the magnificent 60-foot balloon slowly started to rise off the ground. Although girls had been hard at work maintaining the balloons since the Battle of Britain, it was only recently that the WAAF had agreed to try out all-female teams to actually fly them. These ‘Young Amazons’, as they were known unofficially, were chosen for their physical.
Brothers and sisters all departed for their wartime postings as well. Once again it was just Kathleen and her mum left at the little house. But news of the failed wedding had spread, and the neighbours were muttering once more. ‘You know he got a girl into trouble before,’ Kathleen heard one of them tell another. Being stood up at the altar was every girl’s worst nightmare, and Kathleen wished to God it could have happened to anyone other than her favourite sister. She didn’t say anything, but.
A crowd gathered round her unconscious body. ‘I reckon she’s a goner,’ remarked one of the men, shaking his head. Corporal Pottle was rushed to hospital in a military ambulance, and was diagnosed with a serious brain injury. Gradually, she recovered well enough to be able to walk and talk again, but those who knew her said she was never quite the same. After the accident, a sergeant announced at parade one morning that some of the girls were to be sent on a first-aid course. Jessie was one of.