War girls

War girls shares the stories of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY), a group of audacious middle- and upper-class British women volunteers who nursed and worked as driver-mechanics during the First World War. It explores the ways the women subverted traditional mythologies about gender and imagined new cultural possibilities

War girls reveals the fascinating story of the British women who volunteered for service in the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) during the Great War. Examining their experiences on the Western Front with the Belgian, British and French armies, this book shows how the FANY worked as nurses and ambulance driver-mechanics, inspiring stories of female heroism and solidarity.The FANY created skilled gendered performances against the cultural myths of the time, and in concert with their emerging legend. Coming from privileged backgrounds, they drew upon and subverted traditional arrangements, crafting new and unconventional identities for themselves.The author shares the stories of the FANY - a fascinating, quirky and audacious group of women - and illustrates the ways the Great War subverted existing gender arrangements. It will make fascinating reading for those working in the field of gender and war, as well as those who wish to find out more about this remarkable group of women.

AcknowledgementsAbbreviationsIntroductionI. Aristocratic amazons in arms: The founding of the FANY1907-142. The great adventures begin: Grace Ashley-Smith in BelgiumAutumn 19143. Band of Hope: FANY with the Belgians at Lamarck Hospital1914-154. Not a woman, but a FANY: Working for the British in Calais19165. Progression is our watchword: The Belgian Convoy and Port à Binson Priory hospital19176. Petticoat warriors: The French units and the convoy at St Omer1917-187. Esprit de corps: FANY service after the Armistice1918-19Postscript