Women in the War: WWII True Stories of 10 Remarkable Women Who Defended Britain

by Lucy Fisher

Poignant and inspiring, Women in the War tells the first-hand stories of ten of the last surviving female members of Britain's 'Greatest Generation'.  Whether flying Spitfires to the frontline, aiding code breaking at Bletchley Park, plotting the Battle of the Atlantic or working with Churchill in the Cabinet War Rooms, each of these women made a crucial contribution to the conflict overseas and helped to buttress the home front.

Here they recount their remarkable experiences during the Second World War, recalling how their formative years were shaped by danger and trauma, and how friendship and romance fortified their spirits. Drawing on the insight that comes with age, they contemplate how the conflict helped women prove their worth, transforming society and sparking the later battles for equal rights. 

With a reporter’s eye for detail, Lucy Fisher artfully weaves together moving contemporary interviews with gripping wartime diaries and letters. This is a vivid oral history that will stay with you long after you've put it down.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Audiobook

320 pages, Paperback

Published February 14, 2023

Reviews

[Gareth Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite reads of 2021. Wonderfully written, "Women in the War" captures the voices of ten extraordinary veterans of the Second World War whose stories take us from Bletchley Park to military aircraft, to busy English hospitals and a Blitz-torn Belfast. "Women in the War" is by turns uplifting, nerve-wracking, heartwarming and laugh-out-loud funny. It is also a story of finding freedom amid fear. The courage and tenacity of these women left me in awe.

With thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

[Saana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how this book offered a chapter about a woman in different aspects of war work, including the SOE, the Land Army, and pilots. The author used a range of first-hand experiences and interviews and covered each chapter in an easy to read, accessible, narrative style.

It's a good overview about women during the Second World War, though I found in some aspects it lacked finer detail or historical context where the interviews didn't always delve in deeper to the events taking place.

[Ginni · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important social history record, these are ‘the first-hand stories of ten of the last surviving female members of Britain’s greatest generation.’ Fisher interviewed ten very diverse women, whose roles during WW2 ranged from wireless operator and coder, munitions factory worker, nurse, pilot in the Air Transport Auxiliary, plotter in the Women’s Royal Naval Service, Bletchley Park paraphraser, wireless operators in the Women’s Auxiliary Airforce and the Auxiliary Territorial Service, Secretary in the Cabinet War Rooms, Land Girl in the Women’s Land Army.
At the time of their war service, these women were in their teens and early twenties. Moved by a strong sense of wishing to aid the war effort, in many cases they left home to unknown destinations to train and work, not seeing their families for months at a time, and living in dangerous and uncomfortable circumstances. One woman, Ena Collymore-Woodstock, who was 103 years old when the book was written, travelled from Jamaica to answer the call of duty and train as a radar operator. Obviously, all the contributors to this book have now reached a very great age.
One of the unifying factors of their stories is that many of the women haven’t spoken of their war experiences until recently - either because they wished to put them behind them, or because they had signed the Official Secrets Act. It is important therefore that these stories are now on record. I was interested to read these accounts; my mother was too old to be in the Services in the U.K. and was busy raising a family in the difficult circumstances of a World War, while my older sisters were children in the war years. So I have no family stories of life in the Forces in the U.K., and it was wonderful to read a woman’s perspective.

[Daniel Free · Rating 3 out of 5]

Personal accounts of the Second World War focusing on women’s experiences are highly worthwhile reading. They provide a close and concrete picture of the war that differs from accounts based on battlefields and military events. At the same time, I am hesitant about dividing experiences of war by gender.

In personal accounts, the person telling the story should, as far as possible, be allowed to speak for herself. Here, however, the stories are filtered through the author, who consciously or unconsciously appears to have had a political agenda with a clear women’s-rights perspective. This is noticeable in the selection and in the way the author refers to one of her leading interview questions. That is unfortunate, because the interviewees’ own stories are strong enough to stand on their own.

Another aspect is that the interviews were conducted only by telephone or video chat because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This may have made it more difficult for the author to fully capture the emotional nuances of the stories.

For me personally, it was particularly interesting to gain an insight into the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) through one of its members, as my grandmother Eileen Neifosh served in the organisation from September 1939 to February 1940 as an assistant production engineer stationed at Records, C.7 Dept., in Ruislip, Middlesex.

SV
Personliga skildringar av andra världskriget med fokus på kvinnors erfarenheter är mycket läsvärda. De ger en nära och konkret bild av kriget som skiljer sig från skildringar som utgår från slagfält och militära händelser. Samtidigt är jag tveksam till att dela upp erfarenheter av krig utifrån kön.

I personliga skildringar bör den som berättar i möjligaste mån själv få komma till tals. Här filtreras berättelserna dock genom författaren, som medvetet eller omedvetet tycks ha haft en politisk agenda med ett tydligt kvinnosaksperspektiv. Det märks i urvalet och genom att författarn refererar en av sina ledande intervjufrågor. Det är synd, eftersom de intervjuades egna berättelser bär tillräckligt starkt i sig själva. En annan aspekt är att intervjuerna endast gjordes via telefon eller videochatt på grund av covid-19-pandemin. Det kan ha gjort det svårare för författaren att fullt ut fånga de emotionella nyanserna i berättelserna.

För egen del var det särskilt intressant att få en inblick i Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) genom en medlem, då min farmor Eileen Neifosh tjänstgjorde i organisationen från september 1939 till februari 1940, som biträdande produktionsingenjör stationerad vid Records, C.7 Dept., i Ruislip, Middlesex.

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful array of first-hand stories from women who did a variety of war work. I appreciated that less well-known occupations like munitions factory workers and Land Girls were represented, as well as nurses, pilots, Bletchley Park and SOE coders -- and, of course, military branches like the WAAF, WRNS and ATS. The women interviewed came from a variety of backgrounds, and their individual circumstances added a very human element to their stories.

There were so many moments where I had to pause and reflect on what I'd just read, like in Marjorie Clark's chapter when she writes about her paramour Bob spending his 21st birthday in a POW camp -- I'd been so caught up in their love story, and the brilliant and brave work they were doing for the SOE, that I'd been thinking of them as closer to 30, but they were so young. They all were.

Fortunately, there were plenty of lighter moments, such as when Catherine Drummond (a wireless operator in the WAAF) revealed that she and her dormitory mates used sanitary towels to dust and polish the floor since they weren't given any cleaning supplies. Or when Marjorie wrote in a letter home, We had our passports done yesterday and the photos are ghastly -- but then they always are. So strange to think that people have been hating their passport photos for over 80 years!

(Oh, and having read numerous books on this subject with titles like Bomb Girls, The Bletchley Girls, and The Girls Who Went to War, I'm very pleased this is called Women in the War.)

[Coriolana Weatherby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great introduction into the lives of different women in very different roles during World War 2. It gives you a good insight in all the different ways women contributed to the war effort, and how the war impacted their private lives. A very entertaining and easy read, recommended for those who are new to non-fiction or WW2 history.

[Beth Newell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a great book. Lucy Fisher presents several stories about British women who answered the call of their nation and step forward to go the land, Joined the services and gave everything including their lives.
This was such a great book by Lucy Fisher and narrator Helen Lloyd. Any fan of history should really check out this book.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 'ordinary' women recollect their experiences in World War Two . Except these woman aren't ordinary - they are a few of the women left who served in the war -as land girls, Spitfire pilots, munitions workers, code breakers, secretaries to Churchill etc.
A real eye-opener .

[Chris Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Women in the war 10 amazing women share their experiences doing war work ,each telling what life was like at that time, many having lives that they would never experienced but for war this was a truly amazing read x

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ten first hand stories from ten inspiring women. Each lady served in different fields in World War 2 and tell us their stories. One of the common threads running through each one is how the war changed things for women and actually changed the women themselves.

An inspiring and interesting read,

[Evie Longbottom · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to read this for my dissertation. Very helpful. These women were formidable.

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book, beautifully and sensitively written.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating look at 10 individual stories of their WWII service and life afterwards

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book to read right after a book about just before the war!! Made this book 10 times better!!

[Georgie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Informative, but the writing style drones on a little in some cases. It's great to hear from multiple parts of women in war.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of disappointing, more about the women's lives than their work.

[Elena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting account of the variety of women's lives during WW2. The stories of ten of the last surviving female members of Britain's "Greatest Generation" are pieced together via first-hand interviews, letters and diary entries. Fisher writes in a journalistic style making it easy to read and the varied cross-section of women chosen highlighted the crucial roles that women played during the war. I loved hearing about their childhoods, time during the war and the impact that their work had on their later lives.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really interesting insights into what women got up to in WW2. I had no idea. I found the writing style a little irksome, but really enjoyed the content.