When Britain went to war in 1914 many people from all
backgrounds rallied to the cause, determined to join the
colours or be useful in some other way. Lady Dorothie
Feilding, the twenty-five-year-old daughter of the Earl
of Denbigh, wasted no time volunteering for the Munro
Motor Ambulance Corps. Spending nearly four years on the
Western Front in Belgium driving ambulances, she had the
distinction of being became the first woman to be
awarded the Military Medal for her bravery as well as
the French Croix de Guerre and the Belgian Order of
Leopold.Fortunately the hundreds of letters that she
wrote to her family at Newnham Paddox, near Rugby, have
been discovered and carefully edited by Andy and Nicola
Hallam. These reflect the tragedy and horror of war and
also the tensions of being a woman at the front
contending with shells, traumatic wounds, gossip, lice,
vehicle maintenance and inconvenient marriage proposals.
She enjoyed a ready access to all levels of military
life and her candid comments and insightful observations
make fascinating reading.Despite her sheltered and
privileged upbringing Dorothie was clearly feisty young
woman with a devil-may-care attitude to danger and
authority. Her easy-going approach to life transcended
social boundaries and that endeared her to all that she
came into contact with whether royalty, senior
commanders or Tommies. Lady Under Fire on the Western
Front offers the reader a rare, possibly totally unique,
view of The Great War.BioLady Dorothie Mary Evelyn
Feilding, born in 1889, was the second daughter of the
9th Earl of Denbigh. She was educated at Newnham Paddox,
the family home and at the Assumption Convent in
Paris.Her experiences as a volunteer with the Munro
Motor Ambulance Corps from 1914 to 1917 are the subject
of this book.She married Charles Moore at Newnham Paddox
on 5 July 1917 and they had four daughters and a son.She
died on 24 October 1935 at Mooresfort, Tipperay. |
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