Women and the First World War

Lovely exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery of picture of women in the First World War.

I loved the variety on this show. It not only looked at named women who came to prominence but also group photos of women working in home front roles like munitions work. All their stories were fascinating and it was interesting to see how many had been active suffragettes before the war. 

The only female soldier was Flora Sandes who managed to enlist in the Serbian army but you didn’t have to me in the army to be intrepid. I liked Chisholm and Knocher who created medical outposts and died in 1978 and 1981. Also Letitia Fairfield who had qualified as a doctor in 1911 but was a first turned down by the War Office but later went on the work in France.

You also had to love the female football team made up from actresses from the Gaiety Theatre!

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