The title reflects one chapter in a book on Women in War, edited by our
speaker Paul Strong, shown flanked by Stella Astbury, acting president,
and Tracy Gardiner, the colleague who introduced him.
Paul is a military historian working locally, who gave a rousing review of
some of the key female characters of the second world war. They ranged from
the famous, like Elizabeth Windsor driving lorries in the ATS and Junior
Commander Mary Churchill on anti-aircraft batteries in Hyde Park, to those
that should be, like Corporal Joan Pearson who won the George Cross for
bravery in rescuing aircrew from a burning plane.
But mostly Paul told us about the range of jobs that women took up during the war, primarily to
release the men to fight, but also that demonstrated what they themselves
were capable of – whether spotting a V2 factory from aerial photographs, or
ferrying planes from the factory to their fighter station