Tuesday 28 November, 6.30pm to 7.30pm (IN PERSON)

Army Girls is the intimate story of the final few women who served in World War II and are still alive to tell their tale. They were female soldiers in a war Britain wanted to fight without conscripting women. It was a vain hope - by December 1941 for the first time in British history women were called up and a generation of girls came of age in khaki, serving king and country.

Commemorating the 80th anniversary of conscription for women, Army Girls captures remarkable stories from the last surviving veterans who served in Britain's female army and brings to life a pivotal moment in British history. Precious memories and letters are entwined in a rich narrative that travels back in time and sheds new light on being young, female and at war.

Uniquely this moving Second World War memoir is embedded in the present day. Written in the midst of a global pandemic, the parallels and paradoxes between two very different national crises are explored in a book that honours the women who fought on in extreme youth and now once more in great old age.

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About the speaker:

Dr Tessa Dunlop is a presenter and historian best known for her work on BBC2’s Bafta-winning series Coast. She has written The Century Girls, which was a Times Bestseller, The Bletchley Girls for Hodder and Stougton which weaves together the lives of 15 women working in Britain’s most secret wartime organisation. Her latest, and timely, Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy  is out in November and we hope she'll be back to tell us all about it.

Tessa has two history degrees: a BA in Modern History from Oxford University and an MA with distinction from Sheffield Hallam University. She has also got a PhD in examining Romania’s international identity during World War 1.

A lively broadcaster with a special interests in modern history, Romania and rural affairs, Tessa is an acclaimed (and highly amusing!) public speaker. She has written for almost all of the national newspapers. 

Tags (office use) : LIBR, LHF