More and more books are being written to reveal the work of women during wartime. 1941 Somerset is the setting for the second in the Cider Girls series. The characters are well established and it’s no surprise when THE CIDER GIRLS JOIN THE FIGHT.
Brave Land Girl Rose Flaherty has been recruited as a field observer of the planes that pass overhead nightly, to bomb Bristol and other towns. She was sent here from Birmingham to provide food, as shipping is in danger, and men are joining the forces. Her best friends are locals, district nurse Daisy Selway and ATS clerk Elsie Bloomfield. The lovely bright cover shows them in their respective outfits, heading for work. Along with the Home Guard, who are always on the watch, the powers that be want a force of women and men who could supply resistance fighters in the event of an invasion of Britain. The three cider girls are selected for this Secret Army.
The author May Ellis previously wrote a series about the Clark’s shoe factory during the Great War, and how women got good jobs there with the Quaker owners. Some characters from that series reappear or are referenced during the current story. Taking a reserved occupation as a farm labourer was ideal for the many Quaker men in the rural area. There is at least one romance, but it’s not an outright romantic book.
I greatly enjoyed my read, and got to know a lot of details about life at the time. I don’t know how the farm workers had the energy to go to dances on weekend evenings, and the social aspect is actually a minor part of this tale. More emphasis is placed on the training the cider girls are given as potential resistance fighters. Now, it does seem odd reading this when we know Britain was not invaded. But the wider sphere is explained, that Germany was tearing through Russia, and might have wanted to invade Britain before the Americans had time to join the fight.
I will definitely be looking out for more by May Ellis, as THE CIDER GIRLS JOIN THE FIGHT is a thrilling example of women’s history and a good fun story too.
A BRAND NEW heartwarming wartime saga of friendship, secrets and resistance from the BESTSELLING author of The Clarks Factory Girls at War! Perfect for fans of Annie Murray, Margaret Dickinson and Katie Flynn!
Two years into the conflict, Rose is adjusting to life as a Land Girl, working the Somerset fields alongside Jimmy, the farmer's son whose watchful, protective attention she can neither escape nor ignore. Thankfully, she has found companionship in Daisy, a district nurse, and Elsie, an ATS clerk. New friends thrown together by the necessities of war, they call themselves the Cider Girls.
As the threat of invasion grows, the girls prove their courage to the commanding officer of a secret resistance unit and are drawn into a dangerous world of espionage, coded messages and hidden loyalties.
But there is trouble close to home too. Daisy knows she is in love with her lifelong friend Mattie, but will she speak the truth before it's too late? Elsie's life is shattered by the tragic death of her sister, leaving her with an impossible choice. And Rose finds her work in the resistance increasingly hard to hide.
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