Over a year ago PBS had a Sunday night series called Home Fires.   It was part of the BBC Masterpiece series.    The show was cut short and not renewed (that was irksome) so I started looking for the book that it was based on.    It is called “Jambusters” by Julie Summers.    At first I was disappointed as it is not a story at all but a historical narrative of the work of the Women’s Institute (WI) in the era of World War II.

Originally I’d got the book from the public library; but I did not read it thoroughly, so I bought it on Audible.   As I said, first I was terribly disappointed but at a low point when I had nothing to listen to or to read, I started listening to Jambusters.

It went from very dry to being very interesting and the lives these women led and the responsibilities they were given by the government during WWII is nothing short of a miracle.     They gathered around the cause coming together across party and social lines.

As Julie Summers writes ” They ran canteens for troops, baked pies for farm workers, and collected hundreds of tons of rosehips and herbs for the pharmaceutical industry. By their joint effort, members contributed millions of knitted garments to keep troops and refugees in Europe warm. They made 12,000,000 lbs (5,445,000 kilograms) of jam and preserves, helped to set up over 1000 pig clubs and made more than 2000 fur-lined garments for Russia. And in amongst all this major activity they sang, put on plays and organised parties to entertain their villages and keep their spirits up. The Second World War was the WI’s finest hour.”

Can you imagine?    And they continued after WWII…how about the featured act in this WI event?

This is a book you can leave and return to from time to time.     It’s on my phone so I Bluetooth it to the car’s audio and listen to it when I’m driving.   In our nation today, we are so divided.  While I would never wish a war to bind us together to support a cause, but it would be nice if there was a reason that we could all work together for the good of something.   These women are a shining example.  Heck…I want to join the WI.

The Women’s Institute still has a presence and is still advocating for women.