Kat Perry
I was recently lucky enough to be sent a copy of Remarkable Women of the Second World War: A Collection of Untold Stories by Victoria Panton Bacon to review. Split into two sections of ‘British Memories’ and ‘Stories from Abroad’ the book is an anthology of recollections and memories of a variety of women covering many stories from World War Two. These stories are compiled from interviews with both the individuals and, for those who are no longer with us, their families. This book is a “companion or sequel” to the author’s previous book, Remarkable Stories of the Second World War.
A mixtures of memories from those involved or stories from their families, this book touches on the emotions of varied wartime experience, such as being an evacuee, working in the Land Army or serving as a Royal Air Force Nurse. It also includes memories from those involved in the conflict abroad including accounts from Japan, India and Burma and accounts from a Jewish girl in Amsterdam and a German Jew who escaped on the Kindertransport.
The author has captured the emotions of each of the twelve women that are featured with great sensitivity, as well as writing engaging accounts of the experiences they faced. For example, Dorothy Drew, who discusses her experiences as a child evacuee, talks about the loneliness and unhappiness of starting a new school during this time. The varying age ranges of those being discussed made the book richer: featuring the experiences of both children and adults gives a more rounded view of the time period and the events of the war.
Some of the chapters, particularly those in the “British Memories” section, the author’s conclusions do not necessarily seem to be supported by the evidence. For example, in the chapter about the Women’s Land Army, she suggests that Gwen worked alongside the Prisoners of War. Although this can be seen as technically true, Gwen’s account shows that they were kept separately and didn’t have interaction with them. However, this does not take away from the context of the period.
The epilogue to the book is the story of Fiona Symon, who unlike the other case studies, was only 10 months old in 1940. She recalls the experience of the sinking of the Lancastria and how it affected her personally, with the loss of her father, a poignant ending to the book.
The use of oral testimony makes it a useful source for the period of the Second World War and particularly important events and experiences throughout that time. Overall, it is an enjoyable light read that is very sympathetic to many of the emotions felt by the individuals whose stories are told here.
About the author
Victoria Panton Bacon worked for the Rt Hon Sir John Major when he was Prime Minister. She worked in broadcast journalism with the BBC, was a producer on Breakfast with Frost, and ended up with the BBC World Service. Victoria and her sister founded Elizabeth’s Legacy of Hope in 2011 to raise money for children in developing countries who need prosthetic legs, and in 2014, she edited her grandfather’s Second World War story, published by Penguin. She lives in Suffolk.
Kat is a PhD student in History at University of Northampton. My thesis title is “The motivations and social significance of philanthropy in the boot and shoe industry in Northampton in the Nineteenth and early Twentieth Century” which considers the links between the industry and many philanthropic actions by boot and shoe manufacturers as well as their wives and daughters.I am now a virtual assistant and researcher and am one of the blog editors for the Women’s History Network.
