I bet that when you saw the title of this blog you all were thinking it will be about Queen Elizabeth I (1533−1603). Nope. I’m going to introduce you to Bessie Coleman, the first African American woman to obtain a pilot’s license and perform a public flight in the United States. She was known for performing daredevil aerial acrobatics and one of her nicknames was “Queen Bess.”
Bessie Coleman, pilot. Photo by anonymous (15 June 1921). National Air and Space Museum. PD-Published before 1 January 1929. Wikimedia Commons.
Eight years ago, I wrote a blog about another ground-breaking female aviator, Cornelia Fort (Killed in the Service of Her Country–click here to read the blog). Unfortunately, Bessie and Cornelia suffered the same fate seventeen years apart. Read More Queen Bess
The British Board of Agriculture created the Women’s Land Army (“WLA”) in 1917 for the purpose of bringing civilian women into agriculture to replace the men who went off to fight in World War I. The women were placed on farms where they picked crops, tended the animals and basically, helped feed the country. Disbanded in 1919, the WLA was resurrected in 1939 to serve the same purpose but this time, the men were leaving to fight in World War II. These women volunteers were commonly known as Land Girls, or “Land Lassies.”
British Women’s Land Army recruitment poster. Poster illustration by anonymous (c. 1940). PD-Expired copyright. Wikimedia Commons.Women’s Land Army Memorial, National Memorial Arboretum. Photo by Harry Mitchell (c. April 2014). PD-CCA 4.0 International. Wikimedia Commons.Sculptor Denise Dutton created the finished statue at her studio in Stoke-on-Trent. The statue is part of the Women’s Land Army Memorial, National Memorial Arboretum. Photo by anonymous (date unknown). Staffordshire Women’s Food and Farming Union.
Our topic today is not about the Land Lassies but their counterparts who happened to work on canal boats in England to ensure vital war supplies such as coal, timber and agricultural products (and even munitions) reached their destinations. These women were nicknamed “Idle Women” after the Inland Waterways badge worn on their clothing. As you will see, they were hardly idle. Read More Idle Women
“Stew blends the dark history of buildings in Paris that are associated with the infamous deeds of the Gestapo with contrasting insights into the bravery of the French people, who, at great risk to themselves and their families, secretly resisted the German Occupation.”
Stanley Booker, MBE, RAF (Ret.), Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur
“Another outstanding, well-researched, and presented book by Stew Ross. It gives a detailed guided walking tour full of facts about the activities of the Gestapo during their occupation of Paris during World War II. I highly recommend this book to everyone who has an interest in what life was like during the Nazi occupation in France.”
Richard H.F. Neave, President Royal British Legion Paris branch, member Paris-based Libre Résistance SOE “F” Section and author of SOE: A Life in the Shadows
