How the Girl Guides Won the War

by JanieHampton (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2011

  $5.81

  A completely original history of one of the most extraordinary movements in the world - the Girl Guides - and how they helped win the war.

  Mention Girl Guides to any woman and the reaction will be strong. They either loved them or hated them; they were either proud to wear their uniform or refused to join. Whatever their feelings, most former Guides retain strong memories of their experiences.

  All too often regarded merely in terms of biscuit sales and sing-songs, hardly anybody is aware of the massive impact that the Guides had on gender equality and, more fundamentally, the outcome of the Second World War. In this eye-opening history, Janie Hampton explores how the Guides' work was crucial to Britain's victory. When the Blitz broke out, the Guides knew what to do. They kept up morale in bomb shelters, demonstrating 'blitz cooking' with emergency ovens made from the bricks of bombed houses at the request of the Ministry of Food. They grew food on their company allotments and knitted for the entire country. The embodiment of the Home Front spirit, they dug shelters, provided crucial First Aid, and also assisted the millions of children who were forced to flee their city homes to safer places in the country.

  It is difficult to imagine what the war effort would have looked like without the Guides. Full of fond and funny anecdotes and rich social history, 'How the Guides Won the War' takes us on the journey of one of the twentieth century's most extraordinary movements.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2010

  $5.18

  A completely original history of one of the most extraordinary movements in the world -- the Girl Guides -- and how they helped win the war. The Girl Guides is one of the world's most extraordinary movements: millions of women have been members. But what have the Guides actually achieved, since they began 100 years ago? Do they do more than sell biscuits, sing around campfires, and tie knots? In this constantly surprising book, Janie Hampton shows that Girl Guides have been at the heart of women's equality since the early twentieth century - when they were garnering badges like Electrician and Telegraphist. Exploring modern-day girlhood through this very British institution's effect on global warfare, 'How the Girl Guides Won the War' reveals, for the first time, the dramatic impact that the Guides had on the Second World War. When the Blitz broke out, they dug bomb shelters, grew vegetables and helped millions of evacuated children adjust to new lives in the country. Many were taken as prisoners of war and survived concentration camps. Told by the Guides themselves 'How the Girl Guides Won the War' is packed with rich social history, fond and funny anecdotes, surprising archives, and the lingering taste of smoky tea in a tin mug. Providing a new slant on both the Guide movement, and World War II, Janie Hampton's remarkable book finally gives the Girl Guides the historical attention they deserve.

• New

  Paperback
  2011

  $13.79

  A completely original history of one of the most extraordinary movements in the world - the Girl Guides - and how they helped win the war.

  Mention Girl Guides to any woman and the reaction will be strong. They either loved them or hated them; they were either proud to wear their uniform or refused to join. Whatever their feelings, most former Guides retain strong memories of their experiences.

  All too often regarded merely in terms of biscuit sales and sing-songs, hardly anybody is aware of the massive impact that the Guides had on gender equality and, more fundamentally, the outcome of the Second World War. In this eye-opening history, Janie Hampton explores how the Guides' work was crucial to Britain's victory. When the Blitz broke out, the Guides knew what to do. They kept up morale in bomb shelters, demonstrating 'blitz cooking' with emergency ovens made from the bricks of bombed houses at the request of the Ministry of Food. They grew food on their company allotments and knitted for the entire country. The embodiment of the Home Front spirit, they dug shelters, provided crucial First Aid, and also assisted the millions of children who were forced to flee their city homes to safer places in the country.

  It is difficult to imagine what the war effort would have looked like without the Guides. Full of fond and funny anecdotes and rich social history, 'How the Guides Won the War' takes us on the journey of one of the twentieth century's most extraordinary movements.