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Beyond the Sea: A Wren at War
Love, duty and true-life adventure in the shadow of the Second World War.
Christian Lamb is one of the last surviving Wren Officers to have served throughout the Second World War, from Blitz ravaged London, to the important Radar and Operations rooms and undertaking a vital role in D Day.
Escaping both the Spanish Flu pandemic when she was born and the pandemic we are emerging from today, she has reached the impressive age of 101. Now she leads us through the story of her extraordinary life and the wartime experiences of her fellow Wrens.
Christian Lamb is one of the last surviving Wren Officers to have served throughout the Second World War, from Blitz ravaged London, to the important Radar and Operations rooms and undertaking a vital role in D Day.
Escaping both the Spanish Flu pandemic when she was born and the pandemic we are emerging from today, she has reached the impressive age of 101. Now she leads us through the story of her extraordinary life and the wartime experiences of her fellow Wrens.
298 pages, Paperback
Published August 19, 2021
14 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Christian Lamb
7 books2 followersChristian Lamb (Fellow of the Linnean Society & member of the Dendrology Society) is intrepid, impetuous, adventurous, and always fun.
The daughter of an admiral, herself a Wren, then a naval wife, she has the discipline of the quarterdeck in her system. Christian had left school at 18 and was in France staying with a French family, later planning to go on to Oxford when her father sent her a telegram saying war was imminent.
She is an authority on the life and adventures of Sir Joseph Banks (1743 – 1820).
The daughter of an admiral, herself a Wren, then a naval wife, she has the discipline of the quarterdeck in her system. Christian had left school at 18 and was in France staying with a French family, later planning to go on to Oxford when her father sent her a telegram saying war was imminent.
She is an authority on the life and adventures of Sir Joseph Banks (1743 – 1820).
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 23, 2021
This was a lovely memoir. I enjoyed reading about Lamb's experiences and her life adventures, the way she told her story kept me entertained throughout. There was a clear tone that ran through this novel, it felt as if I was listening to a loved one recount a story in person. While it wasn't groundbreaking as a novel, it was a pleasant afternoon read. For fans of historical memoirs, this was an interesting insight into an extraordinary life.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #BeyondTheSea #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for kindly providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review. #BeyondTheSea #NetGalley. All opinions are my own.
November 2, 2021
An insight into World War Two from the view of several serving Wrens!
At the outset of war, young women were just as committed to ‘doing their bit’ as men were; some worked in munitions or as part of the land army but many chose to serve in uniform. Christian Lamb was one of those and this is not only her story, but the story of many others who joined the Wrens.
From beginning to end, this is a fascinating read. I am an avid reader of WWII novels and always wonder at how hardy and determined the population was to win the war. This book has brought about a whole new angle and is a riveting read. I often wonder how, with the ‘reality’ world some live in today, would we fare in similar circumstances now? Everyone suffered deprivation during the war years but many young women were raised to be ‘ladies’ and their commitment to the hardships they endured whilst never losing sight of their purpose is to be applauded. The very thought of keeping secrets for thirty years would overwhelm many today! We owe this generation so very much and this is a thrilling and enlightening read. I especially appreciate that Christian continues her story to keep us informed of her life thereafter – that, for me, finished it all off nicely. Well written and very hard to put down, I’m happy to recommend this to all those who like to discover what life was like when our country was at war. 4.5*
At the outset of war, young women were just as committed to ‘doing their bit’ as men were; some worked in munitions or as part of the land army but many chose to serve in uniform. Christian Lamb was one of those and this is not only her story, but the story of many others who joined the Wrens.
From beginning to end, this is a fascinating read. I am an avid reader of WWII novels and always wonder at how hardy and determined the population was to win the war. This book has brought about a whole new angle and is a riveting read. I often wonder how, with the ‘reality’ world some live in today, would we fare in similar circumstances now? Everyone suffered deprivation during the war years but many young women were raised to be ‘ladies’ and their commitment to the hardships they endured whilst never losing sight of their purpose is to be applauded. The very thought of keeping secrets for thirty years would overwhelm many today! We owe this generation so very much and this is a thrilling and enlightening read. I especially appreciate that Christian continues her story to keep us informed of her life thereafter – that, for me, finished it all off nicely. Well written and very hard to put down, I’m happy to recommend this to all those who like to discover what life was like when our country was at war. 4.5*
September 28, 2021
2021 bk 295. After reading Lamb's earlier book, a fan wrote and told me about this new publication re: her life in the WRENS. This book was published on her 100th year of life. The earlier part of the book has a few more details about her early years and life in the WRENS, but is essentially a re-reprint of the earlier book and large pieces from her husband's book, just re-arranged somewhat. While I have been reading the WREN biographies to get the feel of WWII, what was more interesting about this book was the fact that she provided many more details of her life as a Navy wife after WWII and even more of her gardening years (which she took up after age 75). I admire Lamb for what she has accomplished in her long life. The earlier book I will definitely keep as it has more photographs and sketches from the Lennox letters, this one I'll keep for the recounting of her husband's war and her life after the war. 4 stars because of the massive amounts of re-printing from earlier books.
August 19, 2021
Beyond The Sea: A Wren At War is a memoir and a dedication to many of the women who took on World War II roles as Wrens.
The book covers the life of author Christian Lamb from her first days as a Wren, through her marriage to a naval officer, their travels around the world and later her passion for gardening.
Christian has also included war memories from other Wren friends and acquaintances which gives the reader a wider view of the work that the Wrens did. Many of the tasks that the Wrens undertook may have appeared to be low-key, but often their purpose was to release a man from the job so that he could be sent to war. What ever the work, secrecy was adhered to and many of the Wrens, like others from the war years, never told their stories to their families.
After the war Christian moved with her husband and family around the world, until they retired to Cornwall, where she fell in love with gardening. She began writing books at the age of eighty, and then lectured on gardening. She celebrated her one hundredth birthday recently, and still looks forward to what the next few years will bring. Her final words were an inspiration:
‘The foreseeable future is full of possibilities that are new to any 100-year-old and I can’t wait for them to begin’.
I do enjoy reading about the real lives of people who survived the war, and the lives of the Wrens was pretty interesting. I also enjoyed the parts set in Cornwall as I have relatives who went to school in the same village, so I could almost picture those parts. My final word goes to the author; her vision for the endless possibilities of life is amazing.
The book covers the life of author Christian Lamb from her first days as a Wren, through her marriage to a naval officer, their travels around the world and later her passion for gardening.
Christian has also included war memories from other Wren friends and acquaintances which gives the reader a wider view of the work that the Wrens did. Many of the tasks that the Wrens undertook may have appeared to be low-key, but often their purpose was to release a man from the job so that he could be sent to war. What ever the work, secrecy was adhered to and many of the Wrens, like others from the war years, never told their stories to their families.
After the war Christian moved with her husband and family around the world, until they retired to Cornwall, where she fell in love with gardening. She began writing books at the age of eighty, and then lectured on gardening. She celebrated her one hundredth birthday recently, and still looks forward to what the next few years will bring. Her final words were an inspiration:
‘The foreseeable future is full of possibilities that are new to any 100-year-old and I can’t wait for them to begin’.
I do enjoy reading about the real lives of people who survived the war, and the lives of the Wrens was pretty interesting. I also enjoyed the parts set in Cornwall as I have relatives who went to school in the same village, so I could almost picture those parts. My final word goes to the author; her vision for the endless possibilities of life is amazing.
July 21, 2024
Very interesting woman to learn about. Christian Lamb is a very fascinating woman to learn about. History lovers will love this book.
September 1, 2021
Christian Lamb, Beyond the Sea A Wren at War, Ad Lib Publishers Mardle Books, 2021
Christian Lamb has brought together three experiences in Beyond the Sea A Wren at War: her work as a Wren in a variety of capacities; her marriage with its beginning in wartime and its aftermath as a ‘sailor’s wife’; and experience as an interested, and later, expert gardener. I was pleased to read the material that went beyond Lamb being a Wren at war as some of this was familiar through my reading Peter Hore’s Secret Source Churchill’s Wrens and the Y Service in World War 11.
Turning first to the somewhat familiar material, I would have liked Lamb to have recognised more fully the consequences of her generosity in providing her recall of life as a Wren to another writer. Perhaps if she had developed this material further in her own record, I would have felt more sympathetic to the sometime repetition. This section could have been improved markedly with some more commentary on personal relationships she observed. For example, Lamb refers to the mix of classes, but little more. Class is an underlying theme in the book, Lamb’s background appearing to impact on the way in which she addressed many of her own experiences. Did she find some expanding of her views through her interaction with women from different classes? Did any mixed class friendships last? How did the women come to terms with the differences? Were working class women made officers, thus challenging the class hierarchy?
Despite what I saw as some shortcomings, this section certainly gave a wide range of Wrens’ jobs some verisimilitude, a useful source for understanding some women’s war time work. One interesting comment was how a writer might enjoy one of these jobs - censorship of the letters that passed through this office before being sent. Indeed, one writer did have such a job. Barbara Pym worked in censorship, living in Bristol. My reading of her work suggests that she found so much in her own personal life to write about she did not use such a source, although some other war experiences appeared!
Where the writing became livelier was where Lamb smoothly introduced some of her husband’s experiences about which he had also written. Also, Lamb’s war work combined with her domestic experiences was nicely recalled with some humour. After the war, her marriage which meant that Lamb moved often, eventually with children, with a variety of events in different locations also adding to the range of experiences that make this book more than that of a Wren at war, but also connected to this huge event in her life.
In the latter part of the book, Lamb’s interest in gardening becomes another professional endeavour. This section rounds the book off very nicely, with its recognition of ageing being no impediment to maintaining an engrossing life.
This is a pleasantly written book. Christian Lamb recounts a variety of events that reflect the life of a young middle-class woman whose life was impacted by her work as a Wren and continued to influence her throughout her long life.
Christian Lamb has brought together three experiences in Beyond the Sea A Wren at War: her work as a Wren in a variety of capacities; her marriage with its beginning in wartime and its aftermath as a ‘sailor’s wife’; and experience as an interested, and later, expert gardener. I was pleased to read the material that went beyond Lamb being a Wren at war as some of this was familiar through my reading Peter Hore’s Secret Source Churchill’s Wrens and the Y Service in World War 11.
Turning first to the somewhat familiar material, I would have liked Lamb to have recognised more fully the consequences of her generosity in providing her recall of life as a Wren to another writer. Perhaps if she had developed this material further in her own record, I would have felt more sympathetic to the sometime repetition. This section could have been improved markedly with some more commentary on personal relationships she observed. For example, Lamb refers to the mix of classes, but little more. Class is an underlying theme in the book, Lamb’s background appearing to impact on the way in which she addressed many of her own experiences. Did she find some expanding of her views through her interaction with women from different classes? Did any mixed class friendships last? How did the women come to terms with the differences? Were working class women made officers, thus challenging the class hierarchy?
Despite what I saw as some shortcomings, this section certainly gave a wide range of Wrens’ jobs some verisimilitude, a useful source for understanding some women’s war time work. One interesting comment was how a writer might enjoy one of these jobs - censorship of the letters that passed through this office before being sent. Indeed, one writer did have such a job. Barbara Pym worked in censorship, living in Bristol. My reading of her work suggests that she found so much in her own personal life to write about she did not use such a source, although some other war experiences appeared!
Where the writing became livelier was where Lamb smoothly introduced some of her husband’s experiences about which he had also written. Also, Lamb’s war work combined with her domestic experiences was nicely recalled with some humour. After the war, her marriage which meant that Lamb moved often, eventually with children, with a variety of events in different locations also adding to the range of experiences that make this book more than that of a Wren at war, but also connected to this huge event in her life.
In the latter part of the book, Lamb’s interest in gardening becomes another professional endeavour. This section rounds the book off very nicely, with its recognition of ageing being no impediment to maintaining an engrossing life.
This is a pleasantly written book. Christian Lamb recounts a variety of events that reflect the life of a young middle-class woman whose life was impacted by her work as a Wren and continued to influence her throughout her long life.
July 25, 2021
I'm a big fan of WWII memoirs, especially those written by those on the homefront. Christian Lamb's "I Only Joined for the Hat" has been on my TBR list for a while, so I was excited to see her new book, "Beyond the Sea: A Wren at War."
I'm not sure how, or even if, Beyond the Sea differs from her previous memoir about her time in the Wrens during WWII. I expected Beyond the Sea to contain Lamb's thoughts and experiences, but there are vignettes from other Wrens sprinkled throughout the book. That's not a bad thing, but I thought the focus was to be on Lamb herself, and the book to be more autobiographical, given the "A Wren at War" subtitle.
Lamb takes us through her early life through her post-WWII experiences as a military wife, and even a peek into her life today. Born during the 1918 pandemic, she contrasts that with the current pandemic. She provides her perspective into the causes which led to WWII, and how she and women from all classes felt they had to "do their bit." There are some stories about culture shock when encountering those from other areas, and apparently, at one billet, the Wrens were bad enough that she asked to be transferred. That, plus some name-dropping of her Wren associate who became a duchess smacked a little of classism, but I could be misinterpreting it. She also talks about how some of the Wrens were not as clean as others, and had body odor.
A surprising amount of the book is about her ante- and post-bellum life, which was also interesting, but I think the book would have been improved by focusing on Lamb herself, and her experiences during the war, rather than bringing in letters from her friends.
3 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy from Mardle Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
This and other reviews can also be found on Goodreads, and redhatcatreviews.com
I'm not sure how, or even if, Beyond the Sea differs from her previous memoir about her time in the Wrens during WWII. I expected Beyond the Sea to contain Lamb's thoughts and experiences, but there are vignettes from other Wrens sprinkled throughout the book. That's not a bad thing, but I thought the focus was to be on Lamb herself, and the book to be more autobiographical, given the "A Wren at War" subtitle.
Lamb takes us through her early life through her post-WWII experiences as a military wife, and even a peek into her life today. Born during the 1918 pandemic, she contrasts that with the current pandemic. She provides her perspective into the causes which led to WWII, and how she and women from all classes felt they had to "do their bit." There are some stories about culture shock when encountering those from other areas, and apparently, at one billet, the Wrens were bad enough that she asked to be transferred. That, plus some name-dropping of her Wren associate who became a duchess smacked a little of classism, but I could be misinterpreting it. She also talks about how some of the Wrens were not as clean as others, and had body odor.
A surprising amount of the book is about her ante- and post-bellum life, which was also interesting, but I think the book would have been improved by focusing on Lamb herself, and her experiences during the war, rather than bringing in letters from her friends.
3 out of 5 stars.
I received an advance copy from Mardle Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
This and other reviews can also be found on Goodreads, and redhatcatreviews.com
August 25, 2021
I love a good memoir, especially one set during WWII. The story of the wrens is something I have read quite a bit about, but this is the first memoir for me. I loved that it was a firsthand account and a story that was lived, not just being repeated. The people she met, the places she traveled, the jobs she had, and the things she saw are a huge part of history. As the story was told it was shared that many people who lived during WWII do not talk about their lives during that time, it is not a time of fun. Yet, this story shared the good and the bad. There are certainly more tough times but there were also friendships made, skills learned, and love found.
Each chapter was labeled with what was going to be shared, which I really enjoyed as I was then able to anticipate what was coming and recall anything I already knew about the subject. I found it amazing at everything that Christian Lamb was able to recall and the people that she was able to contact to enhance the story and share more about the happenings in the world during that time.
I recommend picking up your own copy of Beyond the Sea and enjoying a first hand view of the work of the Wren’s during WWII.
Each chapter was labeled with what was going to be shared, which I really enjoyed as I was then able to anticipate what was coming and recall anything I already knew about the subject. I found it amazing at everything that Christian Lamb was able to recall and the people that she was able to contact to enhance the story and share more about the happenings in the world during that time.
I recommend picking up your own copy of Beyond the Sea and enjoying a first hand view of the work of the Wren’s during WWII.
November 14, 2022
One of our oldest surviving Wrens, and aged 100 – yes, 100 – Christian Lamb wrote this book about her time as a WRN in World War II.
It documents her time as a Wren, her postings and the experiences of many of her friends from that era and is a fascinating piece of social history. It’s also very personal, with some
wonderful first-hand details of her life, and life in general back then. We find out more about Christian’s formative years, and her life once she left the WRN organisation.
All in all, this is a gem of a book, especially for anyone interested in history, WW2, or interested in writing a historical novel set at that time.
It's also a salutary lesson in ‘you’re never too old’.
It documents her time as a Wren, her postings and the experiences of many of her friends from that era and is a fascinating piece of social history. It’s also very personal, with some
wonderful first-hand details of her life, and life in general back then. We find out more about Christian’s formative years, and her life once she left the WRN organisation.
All in all, this is a gem of a book, especially for anyone interested in history, WW2, or interested in writing a historical novel set at that time.
It's also a salutary lesson in ‘you’re never too old’.
August 7, 2022
I heard Christian being interviewed on the Radio and searched Amazon for the book.
I have recently been reading several stories, fiction, non-fiction and some in between about women in WW2 and this ranks up there with the best.
I did skip a few bits where she describes things that I already know about without any extra insights, but most of the book is her and other women's recollections of their time in and after the war.
Well worth a read.
I have recently been reading several stories, fiction, non-fiction and some in between about women in WW2 and this ranks up there with the best.
I did skip a few bits where she describes things that I already know about without any extra insights, but most of the book is her and other women's recollections of their time in and after the war.
Well worth a read.
December 15, 2022
Beyond the Sea: A Wren at War by Christian Lamb was an interesting and informative memoir by Lamb, who was a WREN officer in WWII. She shares her and others’ first-hand experiences as these brave women made significant contributions to the UK’s war-time efforts. I enjoyed this book. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.
January 10, 2026
A great book to flick through but I think it suffers from trying to be 2 things at once, Christian’s own memoirs plus a collection of stories from other Wrens’ experiences. As a result we get an overview of both but not enough detail to be satisfied with either. I longed for more information about each Wren the whole way through!
April 5, 2022
3.5 stars. A very interesting read that jumped around to quite a number of people's war time memories. Enjoyable.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
June 19, 2024
A memoir by a Wren from WWII. What people went through.
She had important jobs and even mapped th eland for D Day.
What an amazing woman.
She wrote this at 101 years old.
Stories of many other she knew during the war are included.
The greatest generation, absolutely!
She had important jobs and even mapped th eland for D Day.
What an amazing woman.
She wrote this at 101 years old.
Stories of many other she knew during the war are included.
The greatest generation, absolutely!
July 23, 2024
An interesting read. A personal war memoir, interspersed with the accounts of other Wrens. If anything lets this book down, it's the index which gives the wrong page for each item.
January 19, 2025
An interesting read - a fascinating life - learnt some interesting facts and snippets about the war
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October 31, 2025Great informative writing of a very varied career induced by WWW2
The stories included by the writer and others gives great picture of life there in and the results and consequenes thereafter are experience oflife
The stories included by the writer and others gives great picture of life there in and the results and consequenes thereafter are experience oflife
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews