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Remembered Today:

Female Tommies: Frontline Women of the First World War


seaforths

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I've just borrowed the book today from the library and haven't started it yet. Flicking through the photographs within the book. I have never seen anything as terrifying as those Russian women from the Battalion of Death. They would've scared the bejayzus out of me! Looking forward to reading it...

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Tommies ?

I just used the book title as the thread title but the title struck me as a little strange once I saw the photographs inside. Initially, I thought it was just about British women who served in some capacity at the Front - because of the title but it seems not.

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The book sounds interesting, despite its rather misleading title. I look forward to hearing what you think of it when you've read it. Numbers of authors of both genders with no previous track record in the Great War field have taken inspiration from the Centennial to produce both factual and fictional works, and there will no doubt be many more in the years to come. Some will probably come to grief on their lack of knowledge of military matters, and there will doubtless be a rich crop of howlers, but some authors with a solid background in another field may well bring interesting new perspectives on familiar and less well researched aspects of the War, so I think we should give these 'new' writers a fair crack of the whip and see what they have to offer. I can't find any other titles on any subject listed for Elisabeth Shipton, so she is evidently a first-time author and therefore quite probably someone with a strong personal motivation for undertaking this project. But whether it is a 'cracker' or a 'shocker' remains to be seen.

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I saw the title recently and instantly rejected it purely on the publisher's information which says:

'This book tells the story of women in the First World War at the front line, under fire, and in combat. Through their diaries, letters and memoirs, meet the women who defied convention and followed their convictions to defend the less fortunate and fight for their country.'

And then carries on to include among its contributions members of the Canadian Army Medical Corps, the WRAF, WRNS, and WAAC. I may be wrong, but fear it's just another effort to highlight a few loose cannon women in order to make women's service into something it wasn't. The truth Real life is never going to be enough during the next four years. But I accept that I'm strongly biased towards the more conventional and others will see it differently.

Sue

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There are one or two things that almost made me put the book down again. The front cover: 'Elisabeth Shipton is a stand-out researcher and with this book she stakes a claim as a great writer in her own right. - Dan Snow.'

From the rear fly of the jacket: 'Elisabeth Shipton is a passionate military historian who currently works as a filming and locations advisor for BBC Television. She was historical researcher for Peter and Dan Snow's successful BBC Radio 4 documentaries "At War with Wellington, Edward the Black Prince and 100 Years of the Royal Flying Corps." She was also assistant archivist for New College, Oxford, and archivist for the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust and the Royal Green Jackets Museum, Winchester. She has a first-class honours degree in History with Economics and a Master's degree in Heritage Management.'

With her background of archivist, working at military museums and her qualifications, on paper, I thought she might cover her subjects pretty well. I'm fairly sure I wouldn't have purchased the book but as a loan, it's free...nothing ventured etc.

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Covers and blurbs are the province of publishers. Let's wait and see what the contents are like.

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Maybe she has an interview with the last surviving Turkish woman sniper.

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. I have never seen anything as terrifying as those Russian women from the Battalion of Death. They would've scared the bejayzus out of me!

Have you never been to Cleethorpes?

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Have you never been to Cleethorpes?

No Steven, but I've been in one northern town on a Saturday night and thought these women either have no mirrors or no friends!

Interesting, chapter 1 setting the scene with a brief history of women linked to early armies in various roles, such as camp followers. And, and a few named examples of ones who appear to have gotten away with surreptitiously challenging the view men had on women serving, such as:

'James Barry, a young Irishman went to medical school in Edinburgh, qualifying in 1812, before joining the British Army. He is thought to have served in the Battle of Waterloo...attaining the senior rank of Inspector-General of hospitals. It was only after Barry's death in 1864 that it emerged he had been a woman, christened Margaret Ann Bulkley...'

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No Steven, but I've been in one northern town on a Saturday night and thought these women either have no mirrors or no friends!

Interesting, chapter 1 setting the scene with a brief history of women linked to early armies in various roles, such as camp followers. And, and a few named examples of ones who appear to have gotten away with surreptitiously challenging the view men had on women serving, such as:

'James Barry, a young Irishman went to medical school in Edinburgh, qualifying in 1812, before joining the British Army. He is thought to have served in the Battle of Waterloo...attaining the senior rank of Inspector-General of hospitals. It was only after Barry's death in 1864 that it emerged he had been a woman, christened Margaret Ann Bulkley...'

Apparently He/She was a bit of a hothead and tried to induce fights/duels!

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before we know it they will be p**ing standing up :hypocrite::whistle:

And that will be the endof male domination.

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before we know it they will be p**ing standing up :hypocrite::whistle:

And that will be the endof male domination.

Already happening, as many female 'outdoory' types know only too well - ways and means :thumbsup:

Sue

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:o

Eeeeesht I live a sheltered life I do!

Only a couple of chapters in and so far I like the book. Why? Well, I know Harvard referencing isn't everyone's cup of tea, interrupts the flow of reading etc. having the source plonked in the middle of the text but I prefer that to stopping reading and rummaging around in the back of the book to find the right chapter source. She seems to have reached a compromise and puts her sources at the end of each chapter.

The first chapter she picks up on another few historical characters that managed to evade detection but were 'outed' eventually although one picked up his/her military pension and lived out the rest of their life as a man. She doesn't state the obvious, in that these people were few and far between and they would be difficult to track down for the very reason that they didn't want to be found out.

She writes pre-war on societies view of masculine women at that time and also the various and numerous womens' organisations - how they were operating pre-war - and drew it all together very well. I was surprised there was such a complicated mix but I managed to follow and absorb what she was saying so I found that a plus too.

She assumes a little or no knowledge base and covers the issues that kicked off the war and her early focus seems to be on the different independent medical organisations and those that made their way across such as Mrs Knocker.

I'm looking forward to further reading tonight.

Inciting duels? What a blood thirsty individual. Or, perhaps patients were a bit thin on the ground at the time and he/she wanted to keep their hand in!!

Edit: typo.

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  • 1 month later...

It has taken me quite a while to get through this book but I finally finished it last night. It is quite packed with information and I was quite surprised to learn of all the independent organisations involving women in different capacities. This might not be new to some but it was mostly all new to me. I don't think there was any attempt whatsoever to sensationalise any of the women featured in the book, in fact, quite the opposite and she did indicate how some women did pull stunts to create a sensation or that the press did such things. The title of the book is misleading in a way because it is covering women internationally.

I expected the emphasis to be on women as nurses but it wasn't like that at all although they were mentioned. I am usually quite a fast reader but I couldn't speed read this book. I had to back read if I had missed a few nights so keep a handle on all the different parties and organisations etc. so it slowed me down. I found too that I couldn't read too much at a time because I needed time to digest what I had read in smaller chunks. So despite getting off to a flying start, I did take the time to slow down and read it properly. Flora Sandes I had never heard of until reading this book in fact quite a lot I had never heard of and found the stuff on the resistance networks very interesting.

I would recommend the book although those with specialist knowledge of women working near the front might not enjoy it so much I suppose. A great way to learn about another aspect of the war.

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  • 4 years later...

Question.... am I the only one to have this problem???? 

 

Bought the book over Amazon in december and ntook it to hand now... and noticed that in my version (paperback from 2017), I DON'T HAVE A CHAPTER 2!!!! 

well the pages are there but instead of chapter two I have a mix of pages from chapters 2, 3 and 4 somehow printed on these pages. And then chapter 3 starts normally where it should be. 

Anybody else has that?? Or is it just my one edition that is crooked??? 

 

Marilyne

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two days later.... I'm getting a new one!!!

 

M..

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