I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I found this book incredibly interesting the author really kept me hooked until the end. very well written I highly recommend.

This is a fantastic social history book that explores the role that women played during World War 1. It is insightful, captivating and interesting. A great read for anyone interested in history and/or women's studies.

The perfect book for people who want to read about other aspects of war, apart from what the men did, worthwhile as that was of course. Plenty of details, including what the ladies who had served said and did to help, not just from the UK but Canada/US and the Commonwealth too. Sadness and anger at the deaths on the hospital ships attacked and sunk by the Germans, the dangers of making munitions, the double standards. An excellent refresher course for what went on during war and the futility of it.

I’m not sure what happened to this but the file didn’t work and then it disappeared so am sorry to say I couldn’t read it.

Brilliant book! It gives such an insight to those women who work and served for their country when times were so very difficult and tough. They had stamina and courage and got the job done!

A great read focusing on the role of women during WW1., a topic that very little is written on and that I myself know little about, despite being incredibly interested in social history of women, especially in the 20th century, the majority of my knowledge prior to reading this was on women's contributions during WWII. This book is well written and well-researched, full of new information for me and acted as a great starting point for my own research to look into the topic further,

I found it a little slow to get into at first but once I got into it I fascinated by the stories.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the roles that women took up during the war. It's an interesting and enjoyable read.

I really enjoyed this book. I've read quite a lot of books about WW1 but still found plenty of new information here, particularly regarding the many munitions accidents and the attitudes towards the land girls. The brave and stoical behaviour of women of all classes during the war went further towards women getting the vote than the antics of the earlier suffragettes did, as is so clear from this book. It's well written and researched.

This has been republished in 2021 having been first published in 2014. As a netgalley book the formatting is probably not what it will be in the printed format. I find Ebooks as a format are not as easy to use as the print format, for example it is not a simple flick to the index to find other pages that people are mentioned on and so remind yourself where you have seen the name before. The pictures come at the end and so not in context, this is of course not unusual in non-fiction books where pictures are printed on special pages and grouped together at intervals through the book. It is not necessary to do this with Ebooks I feel they should be located within the relevant text.

This is an important book in that few know very much about the work that women performed in the First World War. I certainly know little about what my Grandmothers did, but then as the men did not talk about their experiences those women who were nursing or VADs or in the military themselves probably felt the same reluctance to talk. Finding out about this will have involved much research and is an interesting area. I was happy to recognise Vera Brittain, her fiance and family from previous reading. The book is readable and informative. I cannot decide whether it should be seen primarily as a social history or a book about the First World War to balance those that concentrate on the men in the forces.

This book is organised in such a way as to keep coming back to the same names but remembering the context is not always easy. As a result, as I was reading it I felt that it was muddled. Having finished the book and looking back I found this was not the case, I should have made more use of the index.

I have a very personal gripe and that is that the blurb mentioned pictures donated by a family of someone who worked in the Chilworth Gunpowder Mills. Being familiar with the area and interested in the archaeology there I was disappointed to read nothing about this and could not find the picture.

The book did concentrate on those who joined the infant women's services and medical staff especially the nurses but the VADs were not mentioned as much as perhaps I had expected (but they have been written about extensively and films made about their lives by others, so perhaps they did not need to be a larger part of the book).

The book is about those that served but the home environment would certainly have affected many. By the end of the war had the women become disillusioned by their experiences, both those left at home and in the service of their country? This is not discussed - again something that it might be hard to research.

Having an interest in the Land Army, the Women's Institute and suffrage I feel the impact in the United Kingdom was not discussed as much as it could have been and perhaps it should be the subject of another book as could the effects of the First World War in the 1920s on employment prospects for both men and women.

Thank you for letting me read this book. It has certainly piqued my interest and suggested extra reading on the subjects raised.

I must admit that at first, I did not know what to expect from the book. I came across it through NetGalley and I do not regret it (thank you, Publisher!). The book is a very good study of the participation of British women during World War I. What I would like to include is a comparison with women in other participants in the war. Although it has been said that the book is talking about Britain, I think there would be even more powerful if we could make a comparison.

We Also Served is a great book to pick up if anyone is interested in the roles British women played during World War I. This book is meticulously researched and covers all the ways women throughout all forms of society contributed to the war effort, from knitting socks for soldiers to nurses, ambulance drivers, and factory workers. It really shows how the popular belief that women had no role in World War I is really a false belief and how society, through government issued propaganda and popular sentiment, women were encouraged to "help the men" in any way they could.

I do think that We Also Served could have been a better read if it maybe compared the roles of women from all sides of the war, such as how the roles of German or Austrian women at the time were different or similar. The book does mention women from Belgium and France and other Allied Powers but it would have been interesting to see the differences, if there were any between the women in Allied countries compared to Central Powers.

I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the roles of women in warfare or if you're at all interested in World War I at all. It's a very interesting read and worth picking up if you're at all curious about the subject.

I find these books about women's contribution to the world both enlightening and frustrating. I knew that women were involved in WWI but I never knew that they knitted socks, wrote letters, drove ambulance, did the farming, made weapons, attended the sick as nurses and doctors and you know why because those in charge didn't think they were important enough. Also many women died help the war but weren't acknowledged because the establishment didn't want the public to know how many were dying and they didn't compensate them either. And you know what annoyed me the most is that after the war, all those jobs were taken away and the women were told to go away. Just Wow.
I'm so happy that this book was written for all those women who helped the war and did their part but didn't get the recognition they deserved.

I want to thank Pen & Sword History and Netgalley for an advance copy of this historic book.

We Also Served: The Forgotten Women of the First World War by Vivien Newman is a history book I jumped at the chance to have the opportunity to read. I've always been interested in reading about women during wartime, but I usually tend to focus on World War II rather than earlier. Having the opportunity to learn a little more about their efforts during World War I was just as fascinating. I learned quite a bit about British, Canadian, Australian, and American women during the Great War from factory workers, farmers, nurses, to spies and beyond. There's so much more I'd like to learn in the future. This acts as a great primer with a lot of stories, but there's quite a bit more detail I'd love to know about the women featured and beyond.

An interesting and engaging look at female rolls and heroics during WW2, Often forgotten or ignored this bring some interesting feminine history to light!

Fascinating. Now I want to look up her sources and investigate the online resources. I know so little about WWI, even as it affected the US; even though it was the period of my grandparents' young adulthood, and my grandfather served. Vivien Newman no has me hooked.

One thing. I wish the author or editor provided a glossary of acronyms. I didn't know most of them, so ended up creating my own list and figuring them out. Even where the author did spell the meanings out with the acronym (as per usual), I often forgot when I saw it again much later in the book.

First sentence: I have always known about my grandfathers’ First World War service. Her father’s photograph was on my mother's bedside table, his eyes, haunted by all he had seen, staring into the middle distance. He was a Royal Army Medical Corps surgeon, specialising in abdominal wounds, and he served in France from November 1914. Like so many who returned, he spoke little about his war service, although post-war he worked with those still suffering from shell shock–teaching my mother to drive in the grounds of one of the ‘lunatic asylums’ he visited weekly.

Premise/plot: We Also Served is a nonfiction book about the many women--who served in many different ways--their countries during the First World War. (The book mainly--though not exclusively--focuses on the British Empire, so women from Great Britain, Canada, Australia. I believe a handful of Americans are mentioned but in very small numbers proportionally speaking.) The book is arranged/organized by the ways women served.

For example, the first chapter is about the women being brave enough to send their boys/men off to war; the campaigning that went on to make sure mothers and wives WOULD strongly encourage/support their men to go. But that isn't all it's about. It has a lot of KNITTING as well. In addition to knitting, women could WRITE LETTERS to boost morale and be supportive during the war.

But the book goes on in its chapters to focus on nurses, ambulance drivers, and the occasional doctor or surgeon. Not to mention the factory workers--especially in munitions but not only in munitions. Then, of course, there were the land girls--women involved in farming/harvesting. And then there was the occasional spy behind the enemy lines...

Some who served were involved in private enterprises--not forbidden by the government but not necessarily supported by the government and run by the government. There were private nursing units and more official government-sponsored nursing units for example.

The last two chapters focuses on women who died serving their country AND the women who mourned losses from the war. There were memorials and monuments to men who served and died--less honor was given to the women who died. They weren't exactly forgotten and dismissed altogether. But less was done to commemorate, recognize, and pay tribute to their service. Perhaps the least recognized of all were the women who died working in munitions. These deaths were purposefully not recorded or published.

ALL OF THE CHAPTERS were wonderful in that all are drawn from primary sources. Diaries. Letters. Journals. Memoirs. Oral Histories. Each chapter has at least one--if not dozens--of personal stories giving readers a behind the scenes glimpse of what it was like--their actual experiences.

My thoughts: I really found this one fascinating and well-researched. I read one chapter a day and enjoyed (if enjoyed is the right word???) each day's reading. I love it when nonfiction relies primarily on primary sources. I love hearing these stories, these experiences from firsthand sources--the women who were actually there. I would definitely recommend this one.

Thanks so much to NetGalley for an advanced copy of We Also Served in exchange for an honest review. This was fascinating read filled with a broad range of women’s roles and influence during WWI. I admit that prior to reading this, I had little knowledge of the impact that women had on the war, both in combat zones and at home. For instance, I was not aware of the importance of knitting or the need for Land Girls and munitions factory workers. Now, I have a detailed understanding of the war from a variety of female perspectives; the wife, mother, daughter, sister, etc. Furthermore, my biggest take away is how undervalued and unappreciated women’s contributions were.

I appreciate all of the research that the author conducted in order to bring this narrative to life. By incorporating diary entries, newspaper articles, etc., she was able to bring the women’s stories to life. I’m also grateful that she was able to include some pictures of subject materials in the back of the book (although I would have liked to see more). I look forward to reading more of this author’s work.

I have to admit to not having read much about women's roles in WWI before. It was a different time completely, women were required to pretty much stay at home and look after their husbands and children. And wear long skirts whilst about it!

This book was an interesting insight into that time and the prevailing attitudes to women who wanted to get involved in "doing their bit". I didn't realise just how perilous things got for Britain in terms of food, and it is frustrating to think about the fact that the need for stepping up local production was identified but not acted upon, initially.

I had a bit of a chuckle when I read about people being scandalised by young women wearing breeches, good heaven's above, those hussies! lol. I enjoyed reading about the role of other women from Canada, the US, New Zealand and Australia too.

The author clearly did a lot of research into the role of women during the war; helping in factories (I didn't realise how dangerous that was), working on the land, working in the Services and even knitting at home. Fascinating, it really was. I was very sad when I realised just how many women lost their lives though, although I have nothing but admiration for their grit and determination to make a difference, especially at that time in history.

4.5 stars from me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword.

"We Also Served: The Forgotten Women of the First World War" by Vivien Newman
Released 1.30.2021

This focuses on the role British women played during World War I, showing their determination and heroism. By 1918, hundreds of thousands of women helped the Allies, working as nurses, munitions workers, ambulance drivers, surgeons, and members of the Land Army.

I knew that women made endless contributions to all wars, so it was nice to see information in print. It organized the information in chapters. What a way to honor these women!

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in response for my honest opinion.

#netgalley #netgalleyreads #netgalleyreviews #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #historicalfiction #2021bookreleases #2021historicalfictionreleases #wealsoserved #viviennewman

I’ve always been fascinated by the role of women in the war, back in a time when the social standings of women were a world apart from how they are today. To see women step up and help in the war effort, when they were still seen as the lesser gender is definitely a landmark in history. It really goes to show how it took a crises for women to be seen in a new dawning light!

Reading these empowering stories were great. I learnt a lot in this book, through tales and the different accounts of women and to see this side of the War from a women’s perspective as opposed to the men was a very interesting read. It was also nice to read the accounts from the First World War, as I definitely think there is more of an emphasis and literature regarding the women in the second rather than the first war, so this was a great book in that respect.

I loved be inclusion of snippets of media and newspaper articles from the time too and the book provided many little insights into the feelings, camaraderie and spirit of the war at the time. If some, utterly heartbreaking!

Starting from the early rumours of war, to Britain’s subsequent signing up, the book takes the reader through the roles of women, both in work and as the mothers, sisters and daughters of those who fought. I was astounded by many stories and enthralled into some of the tales.

It also included the stories of the women in different countries too. I had assumed the book would be based solely on British women so it was a nice addition to read about Australian, Canadian and American etc.. women too fighting for their countries, ‘knitting for victory’ alongside their sisters across the pond and providing their help for the war effort.

There was a lot covered and so many different women included in the chapters. There seemed so many names flying around it could be hard to keep up, however some of the exampled women taking more of a centre stage in the writings.

Examples of astounding, uplifting and inspiring stories were a plenty here. It’s a great read for war enthusiasts, feminists and any who would like to know more about The War and women helping in the quest for victory.

As the book goes on though, it does cut a heavier feel, mainly discussing deaths, grief and heart wrenching stories which I think got heavier and heavier the more it went on. The only reason I gave this less stars than the initial 4 I was planning on half way through the book was, I was hoping for an uplifting feel and was left feel a little depressed and just plain sad. Although incredibly thoughtful for all the women who had died in service and for the cause. It’s nothing of the books fault however, just my usual hesitance to read anything sad given it’s not an emotion I regularly go seeking for in non fiction books!

It is a great read though and further immortalises the names and great stories of the women of the War.