The story of the war from the women’s perspective, a time when many women were able to show what they were made of for the first time. Fire watching, ambulance drivers, land army workers…a new world of work awaited or was forced upon them.

Six million women on the “home front” and over 600,000 servicewomen helped to win the war, with 624 losing their lives, many more losing husbands and loved ones. This is their story – working class women, “girls” who had been “finished” and those barely out of school, young wives, all were called or volunteered to do their bit.

Drawing on contemporary diaries, interviews and with the level of research the author is known for, this is a readable account of day to day life during and the challenges of wartime. It’s not a story of incredible heroics, although, in some cases, the women concerned demonstrated incredible strength of character and courage, it’s a straightforward cross sample of experiences, which demonstrates there were indeed “millions like us.

Verdict: An education, a good read, interesting & moving… I loved it. *****