Book Review: Sisters in Arms: Women in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare) by Jeremy A. Crang CrangJeremy A., Sisters in Arms: Women in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War (Studies in the Social and Cultural History of Modern Warfare). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020, paperback 2023. 352 pp. £26.99 paperback. ISBN: 9781107601116.

By the end of the Second World War, approximately 600,000 women had served in Britain's auxiliary services, performing important tasks in mobile signals units and in antiaircraft batteries, as plotters, typists, wireless operators and motor mechanics, among other things.The service of these women was crucial to the British war effort, and Sisters in Arms: Women in the British Armed Forces during the Second World War tells this story.Arranged thematically and semi-chronologically, it charts the histories of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, the Women's Royal Naval Service and the Auxiliary Territorial Service; explores aspects of wartime life and work; and finishes by discussing the post-war integration of women into Britain's Armed Forces.It is well-researched, particularly in its use of private papers and testimonies, alongside newspapers, government documents, and military files.The book also features a rich list of secondary sources, which are an excellent starting point for anyone interested in gendered dynamics of the Second World War, as well as for sources on wartime sexuality, labour and social change.While works of military history are often accused of being unnecessarily dry, readers need not worry that this is the case here.Yes, the expected detail on institutional organisation and administration makes up a significant part of the volume, but this is well interwoven with stories of the personal.These testimonies add depth and vitality, helping the reader to sympathise with the experiences of female recruits.Chapter three on 'Training and Selection' and seven on 'Medical Matters' are especially illuminative in this regard, as are the rich visual images accompanying the text.Many of these photographs originate from official collections, giving a curated image of perfect hairstyles and figures, and uniformly professional workers which, as the book suggests, may not reflect the full reality of service life.However, these sources give unique insight into the world of auxiliary workers and workplaces, as well as the tasks, dress, and physicality required for the roles.