In June 1939, the working population of Britain totalled 19.75 million of which 75% were men. World War Two changed everything, and when the men went to war, the ladies kept industry and agriculture running. They poured into the military too and, by June 1945, 437,000 women were enrolled in the auxiliary services. It happened in Britain and across the Empire. And it was a similar story in the USA. By January 1942, about 2.8m American women were engaged in war work and an estimated 19m were employed in industry, transportation, agriculture, and office work of every kind. This lavishly illustrated publication is a salute to those brave and hardworking women that saw the Allies through the dark years of World War Two. The effect on women’s lives, and on notions of social cohesion, was dramatic and reverberates through to the present day. 100 pages including four double page fold outs.

This is a reissue of War Archives Women at War previously published in 2014.