Pre-war debutantes were members of the most protected not to say isolated stratum of 20th-century society: the young (17-20) unmarried daughters of the British upper classes. For most of them the war changed all that for ever. It meant independence & the shock of the new & daily exposure to customs & attitudes that must have seemed completely alien to them. For many the almost military regime of an upper class childhood meant they were well suited for the no-nonsense approach needed in wartime. This book records the extraordinary diversity of challenges shocks & responsibilities they faced
- as chauffeurs couriers ambulance-drivers nurses pilots spies decoders factory workers farmers land girls as well as in the Women's Services. How much did class barriers really come down? Did they stick with their own sort? & what about fun & love in wartime
- did love cross the class barriers?