Told through words and pictures: how women challenged the "go home and sit still - no petticoats here" message from Whitehall and did their bit during the First World War.

Women in the First World War: Neil R Storey & Molly Housego

ISBN: 978-07478-752-0, £5.99, Published 10th April 2010

When war was declared in 1914 it was greeted with cheering in the streets and general celebration. Thousands of men were mobilized from the Army and Navy Reserves and thousands more were enlisted. Britain was swept

with flag-waving jingoism and everyone - be they men or women - wanted, indeed considered it their duty, to do something for the war effort. But what roles were acceptable for 1914 woman to do and what kind of resistance did they come up against? Could women really farm the land without losing their femininity and what would happen when the men returned?

A highly-readable and practical new book that is packed full of historical documents, color photographs, memoirs, uniforms and ephemera, Women in the First World War is a fascinating journey through the changing role of women during World War I and one that reveals just how crucial a part they played. From nursing to factory and munitions work, land girls to bus conductors, thousands of women of all classes took on hundreds of jobs formerly done by men, and, perhaps surprisingly (to some), did them well. Through the many images included in the book we come face to face with some of the women who filled and sealed shells, ploughed the fields, and elected to join their fellow men at the Front as cooks, drivers, nurses and more. Through the insignia and uniforms, we may learn more about our own family members.