I am pleased to note that since I began researching just over two years ago, a great deal more information about the true involvement of women in the First World War has come to light. Women are now being recognised as having played a major role in WW1 and the myth of women 'staying at home to knit socks or work in munitions factories, etc' has been firmly kicked into touch. Of course many women were needed on the Home Front as well but many also travelled to the various theatres of war to help in many ways - not only as nurses but as doctors, orderlies, clerks, telephonists, cooks, drivers, administrators, radiologists, entertainers and so on and on...
Here are just a few of the wonderful books that are available about the exploits of those amazing women a hundred years ago when they did not enjoy the mod cons we have and when it was still an uphill struggle to be accepted in a man's world:
"Women Heroes of WW1" by is a new book by Kathryn J. Attwood who is based in America. See Kathryn's Good Reads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4091959.Kathryn_J_Atwood and her website: www.kathrynatwood.com.
"Grote liefdes in de Grote Oorlog" by Frieda Joris (with thanks to William Bulcke of the Women of the Great War Facebook Page) is written in Dutch but I am sure will be available in English shortly. This is the story of a Belgian soldier left for dead in a WW1 hospital. A nurse noticed his hand move so badgered the doctors to help him which eventually they did. He recovered and fell in love with his nurse. They were married after the war and lived happily together in Belgium.
There is also another new book called
"Gender and the First World War" which is edited by Christa Hämmerie, Oswald Überegger and Birgitta Bader Zaar, and published by Palgrave McMillan 2014 Further details on: http://www.palgrave.com
