"Tyrer's prose, tripped of purple passage or poetic flourish, reflects a brisk journalistic commitments to gathering the last testimonies in a tale well worth telling"

"Tyrer's prose, tripped of purple passage or poetic flourish, reflects a brisk journalistic commitments to gathering the last testimonies in a tale well worth telling" (Valerie Grove The Times )

"The great strength of this powerful depiction of wartime nursing is the use made of contemporary accounts by the nurses themselves" (Penelope Lively Daily Mail )

"anyone seeking a definition of the genuinely heroic should read Nicola Tyrer's moving account of Queen Alexandria's Imperial Military Nursing Service" (Virginia Nicholson Evening Standard )

"While extolling their courage, Tyrer is warmly sympathetic to her flesh-and-blood subjects, their hopes, fears and hungers" (The Scotsman )

"this timely new book finally gives these marvellous and brave women the platform they deserve" (Good Book Guide )

Drawing on hitherto unpublished diaries and letters, Tyrer has produced a powerful and uplifing book that fizzes with anecdotal detail." (Christopher Silvester Sunday Express )

"anyone seeking a definition of the genuinely heroic should read Nicola Tyrer's moving account of Queen Alexandria's Imperial Military Nursing Service"

"While extolling their courage, Tyrer is warmly sympathetic to her flesh-and-blood subjects, their hopes, fears and hungers"

"this timely new book finally gives these marvellous and brave women the platform they deserve"

Drawing on hitherto unpublished diaries and letters, Tyrer has produced a powerful and uplifing book that fizzes with anecdotal detail."

The amazing experiences of the Queen Alexandra nurses in the Second World War form one of the greatest adventure stories of modern times, and -- incredibly -- remain largely untold. Thousands of middle-class girls, barely out of school, were plucked from sheltered backgrounds, subjected to training regimes unimaginable tough by today's standards, and sent forth to share the harsh conditions of the fighting services. They had to deal with the most appalling suffering, yet most found reserves of inner strength that carried them through episodes of unrelieved horror. Over 400 nurses died, torpedoed in hospital ships, bombed in field hospitals or murdered in Japanese prison camps. Dozens won medals for gallantry. From the beaches of Dunkirk, to Singapore and D-Day, they saw it all. Whether tending burned pilots from the Battle of Britain or improvising medical treatment in Japanese death camps, their dedication was second to none. This is their story.

The amazing experiences of the Queen Alexandra nurses in the Second World War form one of the greatest adventure stories of modern times, and -- incredibly -- remain largely untold. Thousands of middle-class girls, barely out of school, were plucked from sheltered backgrounds, subjected to training regimes unimaginable tough by today's standards, and sent forth to share the harsh conditions of the fighting services. They had to deal with the most appalling suffering, yet most found reserves of inner strength that carried them through episodes of unrelieved horror. Over 400 nurses died, torpedoed in hospital ships, bombed in field hospitals or murdered in Japanese prison camps. Dozens won medals for gallantry. From the beaches of Dunkirk, to Singapore and D-Day, they saw it all. Whether tending burned pilots from the Battle of Britain or improvising medical treatment in Japanese death camps, their dedication was second to none. This is their story.

Nicola Tyrer is a freelance journalist who works for the DAILY MAIL and DAILY TELEGRAPH. Her first book, THEY FOUGHT IN THE FIELDS, a history of the Land Army sold over 20,000 copies in hardback.

2008-08-20 A story finally told....

Finally a book that tells the story of the remarkable women nurses in WW2. From the first page the reader is immediately transported to the world that these women were part of. From their nursing training to the weird and wonderful details of their uniform.

If you think you know what nurses such as these did in WW2, then think again. The horrors they endured and the terrible situations they found themselves in will shock the reader and leave you with nothing but admiration for their spirit and bravery.

The book has plenty of quotes and paragraphs from the women themselves, and/or diary entries from that time. A few of the women are featured throughout the book, and the reader will find themselves taken vividly back to that time and seeing it all through the nurses' eyes and feeling like you are really getting to know these characters.
A superb book, and a very important book that anyone with an interest in WW2 should read.