Author(s): Jacky Hyams

History

Through the darkest days of the Second World War, an elite group of courageous civilian women risked their lives as aerial courier pilots, flying Lancaster bombers, Spitfires and many other powerful war machines in thousands of perilous missions. The dangers these women faced were many: they flew unarmed, without radio and in some cases without instruments, in conditions where even unexpected cloud could mean disaster. In The Female Few, five of these astonishingly brave women tell their awe-inspiring tales of incredible risk, tenacity and sacrifice. Their spirit and fearlessness in the face of death still resonates down the years, and their accounts reveal a forgotten chapter in the history of the Second World War. JACKY HYAMS is a journalist and writer. She is the author of Bombsites Lollipops: My 50s East End Childhood and The Real Downton Abbey. She has written for many newspapers and magazines, including the Sydney Morning Herald, London Evening Standard, The Times and Rolling Stone.