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Army Girls: The Secrets and Stories of Military Service from the Final Few Women Who Fought in World War II
Army Girls is the intimate story of the final few women who served in World War II and are still alive to tell their tale. They were female soldiers in a war Britain wanted to fight without conscripting women. It was a vain hope, by December 1941 for the first time in British history women were called up and a generation of girls came of age in khaki, serving king and country. Barbara trained to drive army-style in giant trucks and Grace swapped her servant's pinafore for battledress and a steel hat, Martha turned down officer status for action on a gun-site and Olivia won the Croix de Guerre in France.
Commemorating the 80th anniversary of conscription for women, Army Girls captures remarkable stories from the last surviving veterans who served in Britain's female army and brings to life a pivotal moment in British history. Precious memories and letters are entwined in a rich narrative that travels back in time and sheds new light on being young, female and at war.
Uniquely this moving Second World War memoir is embedded in the present day. Written in the midst of a global pandemic, the parallels and paradoxes between two very different national crises are explored in a book that honours the women who fought on in extreme youth and now once more in great old age.
Commemorating the 80th anniversary of conscription for women, Army Girls captures remarkable stories from the last surviving veterans who served in Britain's female army and brings to life a pivotal moment in British history. Precious memories and letters are entwined in a rich narrative that travels back in time and sheds new light on being young, female and at war.
Uniquely this moving Second World War memoir is embedded in the present day. Written in the midst of a global pandemic, the parallels and paradoxes between two very different national crises are explored in a book that honours the women who fought on in extreme youth and now once more in great old age.
368 pages, Hardcover
Published November 4, 2021
10 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Tessa Dunlop
9 books32 followersTessa Dunlop is a television presenter, radio broadcaster and historian. She has presented history programmes on BBC1 London, BBC2, Discovery Europe, Channel 4, UKTV History and the History Channel (USA).
In 2005 Dunlop won a Royal Television Society award for her work on regional magazine show Inside Out West.
In 2007 Dunlop filmed Paranormal Egypt, a six-part series, with Derek Acorah on location in Egypt.
Dunlop read history at Oxford University, where she also won the Gertrude Easton Prize. Her articles have appeared in a number of British newspaper publications including The Guardian, The Independent, The Mail on Sunday and The Herald.
In 2005 Dunlop won a Royal Television Society award for her work on regional magazine show Inside Out West.
In 2007 Dunlop filmed Paranormal Egypt, a six-part series, with Derek Acorah on location in Egypt.
Dunlop read history at Oxford University, where she also won the Gertrude Easton Prize. Her articles have appeared in a number of British newspaper publications including The Guardian, The Independent, The Mail on Sunday and The Herald.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 15, 2024
Tessa Dunlop writes that ‘in 1940s Britain, no matter what their achievements, girls came second’: Army Girls ensures that this is no longer the case. Masterfully weaving the past and present together, Dunlop reveals the rich tapestry of female British military experience by sharing the voices of 17 women who served in the Auxiliary Territorial Army (ATS) during the Second World War.
Written during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dunlop integrates the impact of this global event into her work, offering a link between the crises of the past and present and the determination of these women in both their youth and old age. Interviewing the last surviving veterans who served in Britain’s female army, Dunlop incorporates their voices, alongside their letters, with wider histories of the military and the Second World War. Moving away from a simplified commemoration of female military experience, as often crafted for public consumption, Army Girls offers the women involved a chance to see the complexities of their histories recorded on paper. Described as a ‘story about belonging’, Army Girls achieves this by not only placing female experience at the forefront of our understandings of key memories of the Second World War, but also through Dunlop’s touching personal rapport with the women she is interviewing.
Army Girls offers enticing storytelling but, most importantly, Dunlop’s writing is eminently accessible. Taking time to explain the history of the ATS, Dunlop provides footnotes explaining key events and the meanings of key military terms. Writing in this way, however, does not detract from the depth and breadth of knowledge that Dunlop imparts upon the reader and, as such, it is the perfect book for beginners and experts alike.
At a time of social conservatism, sexism and snobbery, the ATS was viewed as being a hotbed of sexual immorality, and this narrow view has often prevented justice being done in the telling of its history. However, whilst Dunlop touches upon this perception of the ATS in Army Girls, she chooses instead to focus on what really mattered to the women of the ATS themselves. Such topics include: using the opportunities that war offered to improve their future employability, the role of war as a catalyst for their emergence into adulthood, and ultimately how, despite their differences, these women are forever bound together by their experiences.
Amongst the 17 women interviewed by Dunlop, we uncover stories of ambulance drivers in France, the history of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), those who travelled to serve with the ATS overseas, and women involved in the espionage heart of the British military – the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Looking at issues of gender, class and race in wartime Britain, and sharing stories of love and romance, friendship and comradery, grief and loss, and finding their place in the world, Army Girls is an exploration of the lives and stories of ordinary women and the extraordinary things they achieved.
There were 290,000 women who supported the army in the ATS during the Second World War: Army Girls lets their voices shine through, and is the perfect tribute to the lives and achievements of these women.
- Review for Aspects of History magazine
Written during the Covid-19 pandemic, Dunlop integrates the impact of this global event into her work, offering a link between the crises of the past and present and the determination of these women in both their youth and old age. Interviewing the last surviving veterans who served in Britain’s female army, Dunlop incorporates their voices, alongside their letters, with wider histories of the military and the Second World War. Moving away from a simplified commemoration of female military experience, as often crafted for public consumption, Army Girls offers the women involved a chance to see the complexities of their histories recorded on paper. Described as a ‘story about belonging’, Army Girls achieves this by not only placing female experience at the forefront of our understandings of key memories of the Second World War, but also through Dunlop’s touching personal rapport with the women she is interviewing.
Army Girls offers enticing storytelling but, most importantly, Dunlop’s writing is eminently accessible. Taking time to explain the history of the ATS, Dunlop provides footnotes explaining key events and the meanings of key military terms. Writing in this way, however, does not detract from the depth and breadth of knowledge that Dunlop imparts upon the reader and, as such, it is the perfect book for beginners and experts alike.
At a time of social conservatism, sexism and snobbery, the ATS was viewed as being a hotbed of sexual immorality, and this narrow view has often prevented justice being done in the telling of its history. However, whilst Dunlop touches upon this perception of the ATS in Army Girls, she chooses instead to focus on what really mattered to the women of the ATS themselves. Such topics include: using the opportunities that war offered to improve their future employability, the role of war as a catalyst for their emergence into adulthood, and ultimately how, despite their differences, these women are forever bound together by their experiences.
Amongst the 17 women interviewed by Dunlop, we uncover stories of ambulance drivers in France, the history of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), those who travelled to serve with the ATS overseas, and women involved in the espionage heart of the British military – the Special Operations Executive (SOE). Looking at issues of gender, class and race in wartime Britain, and sharing stories of love and romance, friendship and comradery, grief and loss, and finding their place in the world, Army Girls is an exploration of the lives and stories of ordinary women and the extraordinary things they achieved.
There were 290,000 women who supported the army in the ATS during the Second World War: Army Girls lets their voices shine through, and is the perfect tribute to the lives and achievements of these women.
- Review for Aspects of History magazine
July 17, 2022
An interesting account of some of the susriving women who served during WW2.
The author focusses on those still alive during the Covid lockdown, which rather reduces the scope of the book, but allows their story to be told in thier own words. I found in a bit confusing and disjointed as she flits from one charater to another throughout the text, although the photographs at the back of the book try to compensate for this. However, I would have prefered to read each character's account one by one.
Altough interesting, I felt that this disjointed approach detracted from the quality of the book.
The author focusses on those still alive during the Covid lockdown, which rather reduces the scope of the book, but allows their story to be told in thier own words. I found in a bit confusing and disjointed as she flits from one charater to another throughout the text, although the photographs at the back of the book try to compensate for this. However, I would have prefered to read each character's account one by one.
Altough interesting, I felt that this disjointed approach detracted from the quality of the book.
August 24, 2022
I struggled with this because it was written more like a history book. It also jumped around from person to person and then back again, making it hard to follow. The same themes were repeated many times and often the author didn't move them forward, just stated the same thing over again. Obviously it is a recount of real life and written during covid lockdowns so not without challenges.
Still .... Some amazing women in these pages.
Still .... Some amazing women in these pages.
August 14, 2022
Fascinating to learn just how involved so many women were in Britain during WWII. There were about 18 women interviewed, who stories were all intriguing. However, jumping back and forth so much between so many stories made it difficult to keep up with who was who at times.
September 3, 2022
A really readable account of the, often untold, stories of the women who underpinned the war effort.
Often ignored in popular retellings of WW2, the roles these women played and the sacrifices they made alongside their male colleagues deserves to reach a wider audience.
Often ignored in popular retellings of WW2, the roles these women played and the sacrifices they made alongside their male colleagues deserves to reach a wider audience.
October 8, 2024
I loved this book, it really brought to life the experiences of these wonderful women.
September 19, 2025
I absolutely LOVED this book! It was such a fantastic read and I am so grateful Tessa got the opportunity to hear and share these stories.
(I heard about the book while listening to the podcast Dan Snow's History, where Tessa was interviewed)
(I heard about the book while listening to the podcast Dan Snow's History, where Tessa was interviewed)
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews