She Sailed

The overlooked story of non-combatant women who risked and bizarrely relished dangerous seas during the Second World War In wartime, women and children are supposed to be kept out of danger zones. But during the Second World War, thousands of civilians voyaged in one of the most significant waterborne mobilisations in history. Military personnel and merchant seafarers were sailing to defeat the enemy and transport essential supplies; by contrast, women took to the seas, impelled by love, professional ambition, and adventurousness. They braved bombs and torpedoes with prams and swimsuits. Jo Stanley reveals the other side of war at sea by unearthing the voyage stories of entertainers, refugees, escorts, military dependents, and missionaries. Sallying forth to new lands, or fleeing to safe havens, some were pregnant, faking courage, or having fun ashore when they could. Against the wishes of admirals and ship’s captains, unwelcome women negotiated realms of masculine bellicosity, as well as hyper-protective chivalry. Thousands created domestic niches on war vessels and explored a culture that had previously excluded civilian femininity. Jo Stanley retells the story of wartime women at sea, and shows how they shaped the maritime world.