Wartime Wednesday: Ack Ack Girls

Wartime Wednesday: Ack-Ack Girls

Despite all my research into World War II England, I somehow missed the “Ack-Ack Girls.” Members of the Auxiliary Territorial Services (ATS), one of the many Auxiliary Services that women ages 20-30 were required to join. Interestingly, British engineer Caroline Haslett was the first to propose that women be used in gun crews. Churchill enthusiastically approved the suggestion, and his youngest daughter, Mary Soames, was one of the first volunteers to serve at a gun site (located in London’s Hyde Park). The nickname came from the distinctive sounds made by the guns.

The crews were mixed-gender squads, with one woman acting as a spotter
(using binoculars to find enemy planes), two women were range-finders (using a large piece of equipment to calculate the distance a shell would have to travel to hit the target), and predictors (working out the length of the fuse necessary to make sure the shell exploded at the right height). Once trained, the entire process only took a few seconds. Because of a royal proclamation forbidding women to fire the weapons, men handled that task – the thought being “life-givers” shouldn’t be expected to be “life takers.” Given the rank of gunner, the women were attached to the Royal Artillery.

Women were subjected to the same intensive training and were selected through a rigorous testing

program that included fitness, hearing, eyesight, nerves, and mathematical abilities. By the time the program was up and running in full, the blitz was over, however, the Luftwaffe continued to drop bombs across Britain for the duration of the war, so the crews were stationed around the nation.

Courtesy of Imperial
War Museum

One reference I found quoted an officer who said, “The girls cannot be beaten in action and in my opinion, they are definitely better than the men on the instruments they are manning. Beyond a little natural excitement which only shows itself in rather humourous (sic) and quaint remarks, they are quite as steady if not steadier than the men. They are amazingly keen at going into action, and although they are not supposed to learn to use the rifle, they are as keen as anything to do so.” Apparently, it’s safe to assume some of the women operated the gun.

Conditions were dangerous and many crews lost their lives (nearly 400 Ack Ack girls were killed in just three months during the early days of the program.) There is a memorial to the women of the Ack Ack Command in the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

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Will a world at war destroy a second chance at love?

Estelle Johnson promised to wait for Aubry DeLuca, but then she receives word of his debilitating injuries. Does she have the strength to stand by him in his hour of need?

Aubry DeLuca storms the beaches at Normandy, then wakes up in the hospital, his eyes bandaged. Will he regain his sight? Will the only woman he’s ever loved welcome him home or is he destined to go through life blind and alone?

Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/3SuXWPI

Traveling Tuesday: England During WWII

Traveling Tuesday: England During WWII

Do twenty-one miles seem like a lot to you? Perhaps if you’re walking, then yes. In a car, not so much. How about one hundred and fifty miles. Now, that’s a fair distance no matter what mode of transportation you’re using. Unless your opponent in a war is at the end of those miles.

The English Channel is twenty-one miles wide at its narrowest point and one hundred fifty miles at its widest. In May, 1940 during the Battle of France, Germany captured Boulogne and Calais creating difficulties for a retreat of the British Expeditionary Forces. Fortunately, thanks to hundreds of boats, hard fighting by the troops, and German indecision, the port of Dunkirk was kept open allowing 338,000 Allied troops to be evacuated. When Germany began the occupation in France a month later, the threat of invasion became a constant fear of the British people. Street and directional signs were removed as an impediment to invading forces.

That summer, rationing began in earnest as did blackout regulations, plane spotting, and women rushing to the workforce to help produce planes, tanks, and munitions. With September came the Blitz as well as flying bombs and rockets. Germany conducted multiple air raids across the country every night. The raids went on for months…well into May 1941. Identity tags were issued to the population in the event they would be unrecognizable if killed. Barrage balloons were put into place and shelters were created in the Underground system. Citizens also built personal shelters on their properties.

By early 1942, the Americans arrived to shore up the British defenses and take the offensive getting to Italy, France, and Germany. Troops were met with mixed reactions. Many people were relieved. Others wanted nothing to do with the men who were “overpaid, oversexed, and over here.”

The war ground on until May 8, 1945 when Victory in Europe was declared with surrender of Germany. By the end, England’s citizens were exhausted and malnourished, but proud that they survived. The troops were months getting home, some of them not demobbed until 1947, and rationing would continue for some items until 1952.

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It’s been six months since Ruth Brown followed clues to England and discovered the identity of her sister’s killer. War continues to rage as Ruth reports on food shortages, the black market, evacuation of London’s children, and the bravery of the British people.

When a bombing raid destroys her home and unearths a twenty-year-old skeleton in the cellar, her reporter’s senses tingle in anticipation of solving another mystery. Unfortunately, the by-the-book detective inspector assigned to the case is not interested in her theories. As Ruth investigates the case on her own, she butts heads with the handsome policeman.

Will she get to the bottom of the story before the killer strikes again?

Pre-Order/Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/2t9TOhy

Blog Tour: Just the Way You Are

Blog Tour: Just the Way You Are

 
 

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book

 

Book: Just the Way You Are

Author: Pepper Basham  

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Single mom, Eisley Barrett, prefers to keep romance safely housed within a centuries-old mystery, but when she travels to England to unearth the secret, an actor with a sordid past offers her reluctant heart a very different type of discovery.

Wes Harrison has a past he’s ashamed to confess. Suspicious and cynical, he’s managed to avoid romantic entanglements since a tragedy upended his career and life, that is until American Eisley Barrett comes along. Her authenticity and kindness upend his bitter assumptions and send his heart into unscripted territory.

When his past threatens to ruin a second chance at love, can some Appalachian matchmaking and letters from the grace salvage their unexpected romance?

My Thoughts

Eisely Barrett is a warm, engaging, and stalwart single mom who finds herself in England doing research for her dying uncle. Actor Wes Harrison is not convinced Eisley is as innocent and unassuming as she appears, and he is sure she is in England to take advantage of his family. Author Pepper Basham does a great job of capturing the essence of Appalachian-based Eisley and the well-to-do Englishman Wes, without creating caricatures. All of the characters were well-developed and relatable. Humor was used effectively to create a mood, make a point, or give insight. The story was more romance than mystery, but there were plenty of clues to follow as Eisley researched her ancestors. Themes of God’s love, forgiveness, and second chances were woven throughout the story without being preachy.
I received this book for free from Celebrate Lit Publicity, and a positive review was not required. All views expressed are my own.

About the Author

Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes novels inspired by her love for history and the Blue Ridge Mountains. Her Penned in Time series has garnered recognition in the Inspys, Grace Awards, and the ACFW Carol Awards. Her contemporary romance novel, A Twist of Faith, received 4-stars from Romantic Times, and most recently, her newest release, The Thorn Healer, received a Top Pick from RT with 4 ½ stars. Her newest contemporary romance, Just the Way You Are, releases in April 2016. You can get to know Pepper on Facebook, or over at her group blog, The Writer’s Alley, or Instagram. 
 

Guest post from Pepper Basham

Thank you so much for featuring my newest novel, Just the Way You Are, on CelebrateLit. I am THRILLED to be a part of this and to share a story that is very dear to my heart.  

Just the Way You Are is my first ‘true’ Britallachian romantic comedy. Even though I’ve written comedy in some of my other novels and included elements of both Appalachia and Britain, this one embodies the tag #britallachian to the core. For those of you who’ve read some of my previous books, you know I’m a big fan of my native Blue Ridge Mountains and the Appalachian culture. You may also know that I’m a proud Anglophile.

Those two loves met in Just the Way You Are – and I tossed lots of other things I love best into the mix. What are those ingredients, you might ask?

Well, let me just tell ya! Just the Way You Are is a blend of Blue Ridge Mountains, Appalachian culture, big (hilarious) family dynamics, matchmaking, Britain, a swoony English hero, a quirky, magnanimous heroine, a bunch of adorable kids, Scooby Doo and Indiana Jones references, lots of humor, a historical mystery, a devious villainess, stately manor houses, secret rooms, love letters, and matchmaking all rolled into one…oh, and did I mention brain-numbing romance?

(Did anyone else feel the need to add “fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, miracles, true love….” From the Princess Bride?) I don’t think I included torture, giants, or monsters in Just the Way You Are…but I may have the other elements in this novel.

Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating about the brain-numbing, but I do have a tendency to err on the side of overly dramatic.

Within the pages of Just the Way You Are, you’ll meet people from my own family, people from my imagination, and some people who stepped into the story without one ounce of my planning to ever meet them. This story came out of my desire to write something I love reading – spicy romance, clean humor, culture clashes, the big love of family, and redemption.

How did my heroine Eisley Barrett evolve? Out of thin air. I was washing dishes one afternoon and staring out the window into our small backyard with the Blue Ridge Mountains painting a purplish-blue frame on the horizon when I closed my eyes. Into my imagination came this ginger-headed woman walking through Heathrow International Airport pulling a hot pink bag behind her…and then, she tripped and fell. That was it. That’s how I was introduced to my insecure, hilarious, romance-loving, single-mom heroine.

And the dashing hero? Okay, this may sound ridiculous, but I was watching an interview about Richard Armitage (Thoron Oakenshield, Guy of Gisborne, etc) regarding his lovely costume drama North and South where he plays a very dashing British hero. Anyway, he was SUCH a gentleman to watch during the interview. So polite. Kind. Funny, in a sweet way, and then, out of the blue, he said the word ‘gosh’. I know, that may not be a big deal to anyone but me, but after watching celebrity interviews where every other word needed a censor, the very fact that this elegant man used the word ‘gosh’, sent my writing brain into motion. My first internal question? What if a movie star with a tender heart had been burned by the pretension and expectation of celebrity status? What kind of woman could touch a heart who’d lost his faith in love’s authenticity?

Enter my red-head single-mom toting her pink bag through Heathrow and you have the very beginning of Just the Way You Are – a story of forgiveness, second chances…and a little bit of movie magic.

Blog Stops

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April 18: Karen Sue Hadley

April 18: History Mystery & Faith

April 18: Through the Open Window

April 19: Henry Happens

April 19: Baker Kella

April 19: Daysong Reflections

Giveaway

[Insert Giveaway Picture Here]

To celebrate her tour, Pepper is giving away a Grand Prize consisting of: A ‘chest’ – in JTWYA historical letters are discovered in a chest that relates to the historical storyline, so all of these lovely goodies are going to be safely inside this chest.

Chocolate – several references take place in JTWYA that compare the hero to chocolate ;-)

A plaque about family – because that’s a main point of importance in JTWYA

A Spider-man zipper pull – Pete, the heroine’s son, is a major Spider-man fan.

English Breakfast Tea – The hero is English…swoony English

A dishcloth – again, something that relates to a scene in the book regarding the hero and dishes (twice)

Stirring spoon and measuring cups – food and cooking are a big part of Appalachian culture and fellowship, something celebrated in JTWYA

A notebook – Eisley (the heroine) is taking notes about a historical family mystery

A lovely container full of cloth flowers (for fun, and beauty) – the container says – Love and you will be loved. Loving others has an amazing way to find its way back to us (as is what happens in JTWYA)

A little plaque that reads “You are Loved” – a theme of this story

A beautiful lace doily from England (the English part of the story)

Some “Pixie Dust” a fun visualization of the ‘magic’ of romance in this story

and A copy of Just the Way You Are!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/b3e0