Overview

This is the little-known story of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, the women's branch of the Royal Air Force in the Second World War, and the vital work they did behind the scenes to ensure the success of some of the most important missions of the war. During the Battle of Britain, for example, WAAF personnel worked in the radar network and the Dowding System, the world's most sophisticated air defence system, as well as in the Y Listening Service, intercepting German ground-to-air and air-to-air communications. During the Blitz, they worked with ground-controlled interception radar to aid Fighter and Bomber Command in protecting Britain's civilian population from German area bombing. They assisted with the Allied offensive bombing campaign in various capacities, including working behind the scenes leading up to the 'Thousand Bomber Raids'. It was WAAF personnel who were behind the discovery of the terrifying German V Weapons and jet-propelled aircraft and assisted with the sinking of German battleships such as the Tirpitz. The WAAF collected and disseminated intelligence ahead of the Normandy landings in June 1944 and worked in signals intelligence throughout the landings and the Allied advance into Europe. They were also present in their hundreds at Bletchley Park, working with the Government Code and Cypher School on air intelligence and liaising with the RAF's Y Service. Though the work and memory of the pilots of Fighter and Bomber Commands are rightfully revered and treasured, their success was made possible by the WAAF working behind the scenes. This book aims to recover this missing piece of history, granting the WAAF the recognition they deserve for their wartime contribution to British military intelligence.

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9781785907852

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Reviews

Vividly written and based on superb research, this is undoubtedly one of the best books on the role of women at war so far. Michael Smith, author of The Secrets of Station X: How the Bletchley Park Codebreakers Helped Win the War At the beginning of the Second World War, the prevailing view was that women didn't have the education, intellect or ability for intelligence work. With a lively mix of personal testimony and scholarly analysis, Sarah-Louise Miller shows how in fact women performed superb work in the WAAF as radar operators, signals analysts, photo interpreters and in many other fields. The Women Behind the Few restores the WAAFs to their rightful place in the full narrative of the conflict. Taylor Downing, author of Spies in the Sky: The Secret Battle for Aerial Intelligence during World War II Sarah-Louise Miller presents an animated, in-depth account of the crucial role of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in the intelligence services during the Second World War. Her book makes an important and welcome addition to scholarship on wartime women. Professor Penny Summerfield, University of Manchester Richly illuminating, this is a powerful and deeply engrossing history of the women whose unsung war work was consigned for so many years to the shadows: from Bletchley Park to secret listening stations, from the nerve centre of Fighter Command to the espionage of the Special Operations Executive, WAAFs were at the core of Britain's secret intelligence war. And Sarah-Louise Miller's vivid exploration has given us an eye-opening range of accounts that pay proud tribute to these brilliant, dedicated women. Sinclair McKay, author of The Secret Life of Bletchley Park The vital contribution of the enterprising and courageous women who helped to win the battle of the air in the Second World War is brought to life in Sarah-Louise Miller's important and absorbing book. Wendy Moore, author of Endell Street: The Women Who Ran Britain's Trailblazing Military Hospital The women of the WAAF made a vital and secret contribution to Britain's victory in the Second World War and yet remained hidden from history for many years. Sarah-Louise Miller reveals these remarkable figures, offering us a compulsively readable group portrait of women who operated in almost every aspect of British intelligence. Meticulously researched and compellingly written - a triumph! Professor Richard J. Aldrich, author of GCHQ: The Uncensored History of Britain's Most Secret Intelligence Agency A captivating and meticulously researched account of the crucial but hidden role played by the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in the Second World War. I was hooked from page one. Lucy Fisher, author of Women in the War: The Last Heroines of Britain's Greatest Generation A rip-roaring read about a previously hidden aspect of the Second World War. Dr Miller shows how behind every good RAF officer there was a brilliant female intelligence officer. Professor Michael Goodman, King's College London A marvellous account of a hitherto unknown subject of immense importance. Diane Atkinson, author of Rise Up, Women! The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes

Author Information

Dr Sarah-Louise Miller is an experienced historian, researcher, author, educator and media consultant, specialising in Second World War history. She gained her PhD at the Department of War Studies, King's College London, in May 2022 and is currently based at the University of Oxford. She is also a visiting scholar at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of History. Sarah has appeared in numerous historical television documentaries with the BBC, Channel 4 and Sky History and speaks and lectures regularly on Second World War history. She is particularly interested in recovering the hidden histories of women.

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