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Sand In My Shoes: Coming Of Age In The Second World War: A WAAF's Diary
A moving and personal account of a young woman’s experiences of the Second World War from the mother of Sir Tim Rice.
Joan Rice had the same ambitions as many young women of her she wanted to write; wanted to travel; wanted to be famous. With the outbreak of World War II she hurried to enlist – aged 20 – in the Women's Auxillary Air Force, hoping for change, for adventure, and for the chance to 'swank around in uniform'.
Throughout the early years of the conflict she kept a regular diary of her life as a WAAF. Working first at RAF Hendon, she soon moved to a job in British Intelligence, and ultimately to postings in Egypt and Palestine. She witnessed the 'phoney war' explode into the Battle of Britain, lived through the London Blitz and was forced by Rommell's advance to flee Cairo. But her diary also tells the story of everyday war life, of the social whirl of service society and of her very first encounter with the man who would become her husband.
‘Sand in my Shoes’ is a compelling first-hand account of life and love in a defeated Europe. Written with flair and exuberance, Joan's story has lain untouched for some fifty years. Incorporating additional material from her husband's own notes, her diary is a testament to the many women who kept the RAF in the air.
Joan Rice had the same ambitions as many young women of her she wanted to write; wanted to travel; wanted to be famous. With the outbreak of World War II she hurried to enlist – aged 20 – in the Women's Auxillary Air Force, hoping for change, for adventure, and for the chance to 'swank around in uniform'.
Throughout the early years of the conflict she kept a regular diary of her life as a WAAF. Working first at RAF Hendon, she soon moved to a job in British Intelligence, and ultimately to postings in Egypt and Palestine. She witnessed the 'phoney war' explode into the Battle of Britain, lived through the London Blitz and was forced by Rommell's advance to flee Cairo. But her diary also tells the story of everyday war life, of the social whirl of service society and of her very first encounter with the man who would become her husband.
‘Sand in my Shoes’ is a compelling first-hand account of life and love in a defeated Europe. Written with flair and exuberance, Joan's story has lain untouched for some fifty years. Incorporating additional material from her husband's own notes, her diary is a testament to the many women who kept the RAF in the air.
265 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1941
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 17, 2017
A genuinely warm and affecting account of a normal woman's experiences during wartime.
I am always searching for diaries or other accounts of women's experience of the Second World War that will equal my adoration for To War with Whitaker: The Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-1945. It's a subject that interests me greatly, but the delivery is such a big part of the enjoyment that the search is, ever, ongoing.
Joan Rice, unlike Hermione Ranfurly, was not a Countess or the wife of an enlisted man when war broke out. She was nineteen, and joined the WAAF because of the uniform. This is an extremely common refrain in the light-hearted beginnings of women's war service stories, and it always seems poignant. Who could have known that the smart hat and neat uniform they were excited to wear would become their yoke for the next six years?
Joan was a sensible and incisive observer of her own shortcomings, mixing stories of her daily life on an RAF airbase with deeper - and frequently critical - insight into how the experience was changing her. Her life in the WAAF was symbolic of her leaving youth behind and becoming an adult, not only in the economic and independent sense of leaving home and living without one's family, but also in the emotional and physical sense. Though a spell of misery caused her to tear out some significant months' worth of entries, the reader easily infers that they related to her first, tumultuous, love affair and the losing of virginity, a topic she discussed often in the diary prior to its occurrence.
The open discussion of sex and intimacy, as opposed to (or in conjunction with) love and marriage was still uncommon in the literature of wartime, unless it spoke on deeper levels about society's loss of morality and the fall of woman from the pedestal. It was incredibly refreshing to have this line directly into the mind of a clever and interesting young woman who is not ashamed of wanting to experience sex, even if she is afraid of it.
I skimmed the introduction by her son, in which he said that the woman revealed in the diaries was not the woman he had known as his mother, and I thought: what a terrible shame! He knew her as a simple cooker of meals and taker to school, and not a hint of the clever, funny, self-aware young woman ever entered his life until he read her earlier years written down. He was astonished. Frankly, it made me dislike her son fairly intensely - it never occurred to him that his mother had had a life outside of him! But the afterword, by her graddaughter, was a different story. Upon finding the diaries, she says, she was struck by how unchanged her grandmother was after all those years, how her sparkling tone and irreverent wit had stayed with her and had always been obvious to her young relative. And I was glad, and I like her granddaughter better for it.
I am always searching for diaries or other accounts of women's experience of the Second World War that will equal my adoration for To War with Whitaker: The Wartime Diaries of the Countess of Ranfurly, 1939-1945. It's a subject that interests me greatly, but the delivery is such a big part of the enjoyment that the search is, ever, ongoing.
Joan Rice, unlike Hermione Ranfurly, was not a Countess or the wife of an enlisted man when war broke out. She was nineteen, and joined the WAAF because of the uniform. This is an extremely common refrain in the light-hearted beginnings of women's war service stories, and it always seems poignant. Who could have known that the smart hat and neat uniform they were excited to wear would become their yoke for the next six years?
Joan was a sensible and incisive observer of her own shortcomings, mixing stories of her daily life on an RAF airbase with deeper - and frequently critical - insight into how the experience was changing her. Her life in the WAAF was symbolic of her leaving youth behind and becoming an adult, not only in the economic and independent sense of leaving home and living without one's family, but also in the emotional and physical sense. Though a spell of misery caused her to tear out some significant months' worth of entries, the reader easily infers that they related to her first, tumultuous, love affair and the losing of virginity, a topic she discussed often in the diary prior to its occurrence.
The open discussion of sex and intimacy, as opposed to (or in conjunction with) love and marriage was still uncommon in the literature of wartime, unless it spoke on deeper levels about society's loss of morality and the fall of woman from the pedestal. It was incredibly refreshing to have this line directly into the mind of a clever and interesting young woman who is not ashamed of wanting to experience sex, even if she is afraid of it.
I skimmed the introduction by her son, in which he said that the woman revealed in the diaries was not the woman he had known as his mother, and I thought: what a terrible shame! He knew her as a simple cooker of meals and taker to school, and not a hint of the clever, funny, self-aware young woman ever entered his life until he read her earlier years written down. He was astonished. Frankly, it made me dislike her son fairly intensely - it never occurred to him that his mother had had a life outside of him! But the afterword, by her graddaughter, was a different story. Upon finding the diaries, she says, she was struck by how unchanged her grandmother was after all those years, how her sparkling tone and irreverent wit had stayed with her and had always been obvious to her young relative. And I was glad, and I like her granddaughter better for it.
August 7, 2024
A sweet, quick read of a young girls diary, written while in the WAAF during WWII. Nothing earth shattering, but the author’s diary entries were very descriptive, captivating & often humerous.
May 15, 2024
Fascinating read, such a shame the diaries ended abruptly. I could have gone on reading !
October 22, 2009
What is surprising and really lovely about these diaries, is just how well they bring these people to life. No longer seen as vague black and white images they become real people with just he same concerns as young women today largly. The diaries begin when Joan is just 19, and there might be a war going on, and she might be a WAAF, but at 19 there is also a lot of preoccupations over boys and dances, chocolate is still enjoyed with as much relish as before, although maybe appreciated more. What these diaries also highlight is how quickly people began to understand the fraility of life, and Joan fully understands the reckless abandon, with which some of the young men, she meets, are living, as they literally may be flying out to their deaths at very tender ages. These dairies are light exuberant and very readable. Incidently Joan Rice, I discovered on opening the book, is the mother of Sir Tim Rice the lyricist.
June 17, 2012
An interesting read from a perspective that you don't really find out about when studying history. I really enjoyed this diary as it portrays the opportunities that were open to young women, probably for the first time and considering the age of the author this must have been quite exciting. There are moments where you feel the authors boredom with her situation and a sadness at the loss of so many young lives.This would be a good book to read along with The Diary of Anne Frank as an opposing situation.
August 12, 2016
[Audiobook version]
I enjoyed this immensely! Not just because of the subject matter, but because Joan Rice's writing was witty and amusing and so sharp. Anyone can write a diary, but it takes talent to turn even the most interesting life into a story.
I enjoyed this immensely! Not just because of the subject matter, but because Joan Rice's writing was witty and amusing and so sharp. Anyone can write a diary, but it takes talent to turn even the most interesting life into a story.
December 20, 2021
3.5 stars. I appreciated this well written diary by Joan Rice. At times it was fascinating and at times it dragged on a bit, much like Joan's life at the time. I'm amazed by anyone who keeps a diary and it was very generous of her to share it with the world.
May 20, 2012
A women's book. Not for me!
October 30, 2017
I found this an enjoyable diary which was easy to read, allowing me to learn a little about life for a WAAF. It is an easy read.
October 11, 2013
An interesting read and a great story that captures the sheer excitement and drama of serving as a WAAF in WW2.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews