Sisters of the Somme

Sisters of the Somme PDF Author: Penny Starns
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750968850
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 187

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Book Description
Following the outbreak of WWI, the Order of St. John appealed for volunteers to train as frontline medical staff at a major volunteer field hospital in Etaples, France. One such volunteer was Lily Fielding. Despite her training she was ill-prepared for the stench of gangrene and other gruesome realities of war. This book is a heart-warming account of camaraderie and compassion based on the true stories of the VAD nurses who were at the Somme. “I am liking it here very much and could never have thought I would for a moment. Of course there will always be days when the horror of nursing unnerves one.” - Lily Fielding’s diary, July 1916. Penny Starns is a writer and historian with a PhD in the history of medicine from the University of Bristol. She has written many books about female heroines in the twentieth century, including 'Odette: World War Two’s Darling Spy' (The History Press, 2009), 'Surviving Tenko: The True Story of Margot Turner' (The History Press, 2010) and 'Blitz Families: The Children who Stayed Behind' (The History Press, 2012).

Sisters of the Somme

Sisters of the Somme PDF Author: Penny Starns
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750968850
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 187

Get Book Here

Book Description
Following the outbreak of WWI, the Order of St. John appealed for volunteers to train as frontline medical staff at a major volunteer field hospital in Etaples, France. One such volunteer was Lily Fielding. Despite her training she was ill-prepared for the stench of gangrene and other gruesome realities of war. This book is a heart-warming account of camaraderie and compassion based on the true stories of the VAD nurses who were at the Somme. “I am liking it here very much and could never have thought I would for a moment. Of course there will always be days when the horror of nursing unnerves one.” - Lily Fielding’s diary, July 1916. Penny Starns is a writer and historian with a PhD in the history of medicine from the University of Bristol. She has written many books about female heroines in the twentieth century, including 'Odette: World War Two’s Darling Spy' (The History Press, 2009), 'Surviving Tenko: The True Story of Margot Turner' (The History Press, 2010) and 'Blitz Families: The Children who Stayed Behind' (The History Press, 2012).

Sisters of the Somme

Sisters of the Somme PDF Author: Penny Starns
Publisher: The History Press
ISBN: 0750968850
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
With First World War casualties mounting, there was an appeal for volunteers to train as front-line medical staff. Many women heeded the call: some responding to a vocational or religious calling, others following a sweetheart to the front, and some carried away on the jingoistic patriotism that gripped the nation in 1914. Despite their training, these young women were ill-prepared for the anguished cries of the wounded and the stench of gangrene and trench foot awaiting them at the Somme. Isolated from friends and family, most discovered an inner strength, forging new and close relationships with each other and establishing a camaraderie that was to last through the war and beyond. Based on the previously unpublished true stories of its nurses and medical staff, this book is a heart-warming account of the joys and sorrows of life in an extraordinary Somme field hospital.

Band of Sisters

Band of Sisters PDF Author: Lauren Willig
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 0062986171
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 544

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Book Description
"A crackling portrayal of everyday American heroines…A triumph." — Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue A group of young women from Smith College risk their lives in France at the height of World War I in this sweeping novel based on a true story—a skillful blend of Call the Midwife and The Alice Network—from New York Times bestselling author Lauren Willig. A scholarship girl from Brooklyn, Kate Moran thought she found a place among Smith’s Mayflower descendants, only to have her illusions dashed the summer after graduation. When charismatic alumna Betsy Rutherford delivers a rousing speech at the Smith College Club in April of 1917, looking for volunteers to help French civilians decimated by the German war machine, Kate is too busy earning her living to even think of taking up the call. But when her former best friend Emmeline Van Alden reaches out and begs her to take the place of a girl who had to drop out, Kate reluctantly agrees to join the new Smith College Relief Unit. Four months later, Kate and seventeen other Smithies, including two trailblazing female doctors, set sail for France. The volunteers are armed with money, supplies, and good intentions—all of which immediately go astray. The chateau that was to be their headquarters is a half-burnt ruin. The villagers they meet are in desperate straits: women and children huddling in damp cellars, their crops destroyed and their wells poisoned. Despite constant shelling from the Germans, French bureaucracy, and the threat of being ousted by the British army, the Smith volunteers bring welcome aid—and hope—to the region. But can they survive their own differences? As they cope with the hardships and terrors of the war, Kate and her colleagues find themselves navigating old rivalries and new betrayals which threaten the very existence of the Unit. With the Germans threatening to break through the lines, can the Smith Unit pull together and be truly a band of sisters?

Shell Shocked Britain

Shell Shocked Britain PDF Author: Suzie Grogan
Publisher: Pen and Sword
ISBN: 1781592659
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 186

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Book Description
We know that millions of soldiers were scarred by their experiences in the First World War trenches, but what happened after they returned home? ??Suzie Grogan reveals the First World War's disturbing legacy for soldiers and their families. How did a nation of broken men, and 'spare' women cope? ??In 1922 the British Parliament published a report into the situation of thousands of 'service patients', or mentally ill ex-soldiers still in hospital. What happened to these men? Were they cured? What treatments were on offer? And what was the reception from their families and society? ??Drawing on a huge mass of original sources, Suzie Grogan answers all those questions, combining individual case studies with a narrative on wider events. Unpublished material from the archives shows the true extent of the trauma experienced by the survivors. This is a fresh perspective on the history of the post-war period, and the plight of a traumatised nation.

All My Sisters

All My Sisters PDF Author: Judith Lennox
Publisher: Review
ISBN: 1472224132
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 472

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Book Description
Under the storm clouds of war, can they hope for happiness? In the tumultuous years before the First World War, four sisters seek to follow their dreams in Judith Lennox's compelling novel All My Sisters. Perfect for fans of Lulu Taylor and Kate Morton. Iris, Marianne, Eva and Clemency are the daughters of Sheffield manufacturer, Joshua Maclise. In the tumultuous years before the First World War, the sisters seek to fulfil their ambitions. Pretty, self-centred Iris dreams of a grand marriage, quiet Marianne meets the love of her life, and passionate Eva longs for independence. Only Clemency, caring for her invalid mother, remains tied to the family home. Years pass and, her hopes of marriage dashed, Iris becomes a nurse in a London hospital. Marianne, living on a tea estate in Ceylon, finds first her happiness and then her life is threatened by a cruel and ruthless man. When Eva falls in love with the Bohemian, Gabriel Bellamy, her dreams of a career as an artist falter. As the clouds darken and war changes the lives of all the sisters, Clemency fights to free herself from the bonds that confine her and to discover love at last. What readers are saying about All My Sisters: 'This is a book to savour - so many characters, all of them well drawn and who invite our sympathy. A wonderful story' '[Judith Lennox] is the ultimate storyteller... her stories are compelling and beautifully descriptive of both characters and feelings' 'Happy and sad, [this book] has all the qualities to make for an excellent read'

The Sisters Mortland

The Sisters Mortland PDF Author: Sally Beauman
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
ISBN: 145555149X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
A powerful and haunting story of three sisters and the tragedy at the center of their lives from the acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Destiny and Rebecca's Tale. Summer 1967: In the heart of rural Suffolk, 13-year-old Maisie is at her decaying family home, a former medieval abbey. As an artist paints a portrait of Maisie and her older sisters, arrogant, beautiful Julia and brilliant, bookish Finn, Maisie embarks upon a portrait of her own: an account of her troubled family and her village friend Daniel. Before the summer is over, an accident will have befallen the family-one which changes their lives irrevocably for the worse. Winter 1991: As the now-famous portrait of the Mortland sisters is being featured in a huge exhibition, Daniel seeks to free himself of his obsession with these women by unraveling the secrets of that fateful summer. Readers will be transported, fascinated, and have their hearts broken by this page-turning novel of a most extraordinary family.

The Scarlet Sisters

The Scarlet Sisters PDF Author: Helen Batten
Publisher: Random House
ISBN: 1473502691
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 386

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Book Description
‘Oh my goodness – another girl Mrs Swain!’ Clara’s normal iron composure broke and she screamed, ‘No! That’s not the bloody deal!’ And that is how my nanna, Bertha Swain, entered the world. When Helen Batten’s marriage breaks down, she starts on a journey of discovery into her family’s past and the mysteries surrounding her enigmatic nanna’s early life. What she unearths is a tale of five feisty red heads struggling to climb out of poverty and find love through two world wars. It’s a story full of surprises and scandal – a death in a workhouse, a son kept in a box, a shameful war record, a clandestine marriage and children taken far too soon. It’s as if there is a family curse. But Helen also finds love, resilience and hope – crazy wagers, late night Charlestons and stolen kisses. As she unravels the story of Nanna and her scarlet sisters, Helen starts to break the spell of the past, and sees a way she might herself find love again.

The Workhouse Sisters

The Workhouse Sisters PDF Author: Kay Brellend
Publisher: Piatkus
ISBN: 0349425183
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 416

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Book Description
After escaping the grip of the workhouse, Lily has kept her fiancé's business afloat while he is away fighting on the Western Front. Still battling on, she's now doing her bit for her country as an auxiliary nurse - but one thing above all else continues to weigh heavily on her heart: her long-lost sister. Born just before her mother died, the scandal was hushed-up and the baby spirited away. But now, at last, there is hope Lily could find her little sister for she has a clue to go on: the name of the notorious baby farmer who bought the child all those years ago. Mrs Jolley. Using all her pluck, and with the help of her two friends Margie and Fanny, Lily will do anything in her power to find her little sister and save her from the dark streets of London. With Winter drawing in, and the war with no end in sight, will she be able to bring her family together?

The Spitfire Sisters

The Spitfire Sisters PDF Author: Margaret Dickinson
Publisher: Pan Macmillan
ISBN: 152901848X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 408

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Book Description
Family and friendship mean everything under the darkening skies of wartime Britain. The Spitfire Sisters is the third book in Margaret Dickinson's moving Maitland trilogy. It is the 1930s and the Maitland family have spent the years following the Great War struggling to come to terms with its catastrophic aftermath, and their hopes now lie with the next generation. Their Lincolnshire village of Doddington suffered terrible loss and it has taken great courage for the bereaved families to rebuild their lives without their loved ones. When war is declared again, it is Daisy Maitland and her peers who must now take up the fight for freedom. Feisty and a daredevil like her beloved Aunt Pips, who spent World War One on the front line serving with a flying ambulance corps, Daisy had persuaded a family friend to teach her to fly as a young woman. Now her country is at war, she is determined to put her skills to good use, enlisting in the Air Transport Auxiliary. There she forges new friendships – but she never forgets her childhood friend and cousin, Luke, who has joined the RAF as a fighter pilot. As war rages in the skies and on the ground, Daisy, her friends and her family – at home and across the Channel – will find their bravery and strength tested to the very limits in their determination to save their country. And they have learned one of the most valuable lessons of all: true love will find a way.

Girls to the Rescue

Girls to the Rescue PDF Author: Emily Hamilton-Honey
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 1476668795
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
During World War I, as young men journeyed overseas to battle, American women maintained the home front by knitting, fundraising, and conserving supplies. These became daily chores for young girls, but many longed to be part of a larger, more glorious war effort--and some were. A new genre of young adult books entered the market, written specifically with the young girls of the war period in mind and demonstrating the wartime activities of women and girls all over the world. Through fiction, girls could catch spies, cross battlefields, man machine guns, and blow up bridges. These adventurous heroines were contemporary feminist role models, creating avenues of leadership for women and inspiring individualism and self-discovery. The work presented here analyzes the powerful messages in such literature, how it created awareness and grappled with the engagement of real girls in the United States and Allied war effort, and how it reflects their contemporaries' awareness of girls' importance.