Elsie and Mairi Go to War: Two Extraordinary Women on the Western Front

Nonfiction, History, Military, World War I
Cover of the book Elsie and Mairi Go to War: Two Extraordinary Women on the Western Front by Diane Atkinson, Pegasus Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Diane Atkinson ISBN: 9781681770161
Publisher: Pegasus Books Publication: October 12, 2011
Imprint: Pegasus Books Language: English
Author: Diane Atkinson
ISBN: 9781681770161
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Publication: October 12, 2011
Imprint: Pegasus Books
Language: English

The incredible story of two courageous and spirited women who were the only female participants to serve on the western front during World War I.

When they met at a motorcycle club in 1912, Elsie Knocker was a thirty year-old motorcycling divorcee dressed in bottle-green Dunhill leathers, and Mairi Chisholm was a brilliant eighteen-year old mechanic, living at home borrowing tools from her brother. Little did they know, theirs was to become one of the most extraordinary stories of World War I.

In 1914, they roared off to London 'to do their bit,' and within a month they were in the thick of things in Belgium driving ambulances to distant military hospitals. Frustrated by the number of men dying of shock in the back of their vehicles, they set up their own first-aid post on the front line in the village of Pervyse, near Ypres, risking their lives working under sniper fire and heavy bombardment for months at a time. As news of their courage and expertise spread, the 'Angels of Pervyse' became celebrities, visited by journalists and photographers as well as royals and VIPs. Glamorous and influential, they were having the time of their lives, and for four years Elsie and Mairi and stayed in Pervyse until they were nearly killed by arsenic gas in the spring of 1918. But returning home and adjusting to peacetime life—and the role of women in British society—was to prove more challenging than even the war itself.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The incredible story of two courageous and spirited women who were the only female participants to serve on the western front during World War I.

When they met at a motorcycle club in 1912, Elsie Knocker was a thirty year-old motorcycling divorcee dressed in bottle-green Dunhill leathers, and Mairi Chisholm was a brilliant eighteen-year old mechanic, living at home borrowing tools from her brother. Little did they know, theirs was to become one of the most extraordinary stories of World War I.

In 1914, they roared off to London 'to do their bit,' and within a month they were in the thick of things in Belgium driving ambulances to distant military hospitals. Frustrated by the number of men dying of shock in the back of their vehicles, they set up their own first-aid post on the front line in the village of Pervyse, near Ypres, risking their lives working under sniper fire and heavy bombardment for months at a time. As news of their courage and expertise spread, the 'Angels of Pervyse' became celebrities, visited by journalists and photographers as well as royals and VIPs. Glamorous and influential, they were having the time of their lives, and for four years Elsie and Mairi and stayed in Pervyse until they were nearly killed by arsenic gas in the spring of 1918. But returning home and adjusting to peacetime life—and the role of women in British society—was to prove more challenging than even the war itself.

More books from Pegasus Books

Cover of the book How the Zebra Got Its Stripes: Darwinian Stories Told Through Evolutionary Biology by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book The Lovecraft Squad: Waiting (Lovecraft Squad) by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book The Devil's Bible: A Novel (The Bohemian Trilogy) by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book Eden to Armageddon: World War I in the Middle East by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book Louis XIV: The Power and the Glory by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book Crawl of Fame: Julie Moss and the Fifteen Feet that Created an Ironman Triathlon Legend by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book Passion Play: A Novel by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book In Sunlight or In Shadow: Stories Inspired by the Paintings of Edward Hopper by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine Presents Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book Washed Away by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book The French Revolution: From Enlightenment to Tyranny by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book Papyrus: The Plant that Changed the World: From Ancient Egypt to Today's Water Wars by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book Murder From the Grave by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book The Night Bell: A Novel (A Detective Hazel Micallef Mystery) by Diane Atkinson
Cover of the book No Man's Land: Fiction from a World at War by Diane Atkinson
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy