Woman at the Front: Memoirs of an ATS Girl

by Sylvia Wild

Prior to D-Day General Montgomery, the Commanding Officer of HQ21 Army Group, gathered together a small number of ATS girls who had volunteered to serve abroad. Sylvia was one of them. Her service with HQ as a shorthand typist commenced with her posting direct from the training centre in 1943 and continued until she was demobilised in the autumn of 1946. Woman at the Front tells the story of this young South Londoner working for the Senior Royal Engineer officers who, initially, were developing the D-Day plans concerning ports, docks, harbours and railways as part of Operation Overlord, followed by the reinstatement of these services throughout northern France into Belgium and finally into Germany. It was a predominantly male environment and this memoir offers a fascinating insight into the important role played by a few shorthand typists, and the army s reliance on them in highly Top Secret situations. Her experiences living in French households immediately following the departure of the German Occupation are unique.

Genres: Nonfiction

135 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 5, 2012

Reviews

[Elizabeth Lloyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this autobiography because Sylvia’s experiences during the second world war mirrored those of my mother, but the story of those years in France, Belgium and Germany is fascinating for anyone interested in 20th century history.
Sylvia joined the ATS, as the women’s section of the British Army was called, in 1943. She decided to volunteer for overseas service and as a shorthand typist was sent over to France as one of the few women soon after D-day. Her time billeted with French families was a revelation to her, but despite their initial resistance, she made friends. In Brussels she was reunited with friends and found more luxury and entertainment. Returning to London on her very first flight was alarming, and she was shocked to discover that her family were still suffering from the effects of the wartime bombardment.
The women of the ATS were given little credit, being dismissed by Montgomery as nuisances but their role was essential in the establishment of the British Army Over the Rhine bringing peace to Europe. Anyone who enjoys reading the minutiae of social history of a time almost still in living memory would enjoy this book.