Army Without Banners

Middle-aged Mildred is at war. She’s driving an ambulance in London during the Blitz, terrified but determined to do her bit while the bombs rain down. She’s living at her friend Daphne’s house, sleeping in the living room alongside other women volunteers on mattresses, being cooked for by the redoubtable Mrs Dove, and working her shifts at the ambulance station. She sees the nightly destruction of London’s buildings and streets close-up and death at first hand. Nine years after Business as Usual, author and illustrator Ann Stafford’s experiences in the Blitz bring British history back to life.

Her novel is a fascinating report from the front lines of the Home Front in the darkest days of the war.

Her heroes are the volunteers, the women and men who picked up the pieces and the bodies after the bombs stopped falling.

Until the next raid .... Ann Stafford’s inimitable illustrations add authentic glimpses of life under fire on the Home Front. With an Introduction by Jessica Hammett, University of Bristol.