Debs at war

I’ve mentioned a few time my interest in how Britain was through the Second World War, especially in terms of the women who remained here and kept the country running while the majority of men were serving in the forces overseas. After reading Nella Last’s War someone suggested that I also try reading this book.

Debs at War by Anne de Courcy tells the story of the women who were destined to become debutantes before the war but whose lives took very different paths after war was declared.

The book is based on a series of interviews with women who were greatly affected by the war in the fact that their war time lives were so different to their lives before the war. Many of them worked with the various parts of the military, or as nurses, whilst others took on factory work, or working with other parts of Government to support the war effort. There are fascinating stories of these women flying planes around the UK as part of the war effort – often delivering them to the RAF from the factories where they had been manufactured. We are also told about some of the discrimination that they suffered working with people from backgrounds very different to their own.

Reading about how innocent some of these women were is somewhat unbelievable. These were women who often did not learn about the full facts of life until after they were married. This innocence and naivety is very touching to read about, especially when you then read of these same women having to take responsibility for younger, more knowledgeable, women within the forces.

This really is a fascinating book about a part of society that were impacted by the war that I didn’t know much about. If you have any interest in war time in Britain then I strongly recommend you read this.