The personal narratives of three young women who enlisted in 1940. In the summer of 1940, Britain stood alone against Germany. The British army numbered just over 1.5 million men, while the Germans had three times that number and a population nearly twice our size to draw new batches of soldiers from. It was clear that in the battle against Hitler, manpower alone would not be enough.

18-year-old Jessie Ward defied her mother to enlist in the ATS, Margery Pot signed up for the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, and nanny Kathleen Skin joined the WRNS. They left quiet homes for the harsh trials of training, the camaraderie of newfound female friendships, and to face a war that would change their lives forever.

In total, more than half a million women served in the armed forces during the Second World War. This book tells the story of just three of them – one from the Army, one from the Navy, and one from the Air Force. However, their stories reflect the lives of hundreds of thousands of others like them – ordinary girls who went to war, wearing their uniforms with pride.