Why a Booktrail?
1915: As the Great War rages on, will the truth come out?
The Bobby Girls’ Secrets
What you need to know before your trail
Best friends Irene, Maggie and Annie are proud members of the newly renamed Women’s Police Service. While Britain’s men are away fighting in France, the girls are doing their bit by keeping the peace at home in London’s East End.
But out of the blue, Irene is given the opportunity to be stationed near an army barracks in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Having recently experienced some heartbreak and keen for the adventure, she decides to go. What could possibly go wrong?
It turns out, plenty. One of the other WPS girls takes an immediate dislike to her and makes her life a misery. On top of that, the man she thinks could be the answer to all her problems isn’t all he seems. And when she finds a psychologically disturbed deserter in hiding, she has a very difficult decision to make .
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
Travel back to the WPV’s London in 1920s London
The author says in her author note that she enjoyed researching the WPV and what London was like during the First World War.
She found the Londonist website good for research as it contains photos and details of what life was like in the Boundary Estate at the time of the novel.
The Imperial War Museum was also a great source of information for the setting in general.
The Women Police Volunteers (WPV) was created in 1914 Before the First World War, campaigners Nina Boyle and Margaret Dawson) for women’s rights proposed that there should be female as well as male police officers, but the outbreak of war prevented any progress . However, it was soon decided that the recent refugees in London needed help and that the women were at risk of being forced into prostitution.
The pair gained the approval of Sir Edward Henry, Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis to train women, who were then patrol in London on a voluntary basis with the role of offering advice and support to women and children to help prevent sexual harassment and abuse. The volunteer women were allowed to officially patrol the streets of London and to assist women in need, with men of the Metropolitan Police and other forces asked to assist them. Boyle herself was one of the first women to appear in a police uniform.
BookTrail Boarding Pass: The Bobby Girls Secrets
Destination/location: London Author/guide: Johanna Bell Departure Time: 1915
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