‘A fascinating read about the women at the heart of Australia’s covert war operation. These women, who kept silent for 40 years about the undercover operations that helped change the course of WW2, should be honoured and their work known. It’s time their part in Australia’s top-secret wartime operation is properly told.’ Lisa Millar
‘When the Second World War erupted in 1939, Australia’s women declared that rather than stand behind their men, they wanted to stand with them. Diana Thorp’s lively account of the women entrusted with transmitting and keeping Australia’s war secrets deftly blends national and personal histories to tell their extraordinary stories.’ Michelle Arrow
Many swore they would keep their covert roles hidden, even from their families. Eighty years later, their intriguing stories are starting to emerge.
As World War II climbed to its crescendo in the Pacific, the Australian government called in a new weapon: women. Stepping up in a time of crisis, the recruits embraced a variety of roles.
These women, some just teens, were soon dotted across Australia, working in discreet locations – from an outback bunker disguised as a farmhouse to a Melbourne apartment block, from the garage of a Brisbane manor to a Perth girls’ school. As war moved closer to home, some intercepted enemy messages and relayed intelligence worldwide, from Bletchley Park to Washington and across the Asia-Pacific. Some members of this female arsenal were sworn to secrecy.
When war ended, many returned to civilian lives, following careers or raising families. Little was known of their service – until recently. Based on interviews with Australian women who served in the army, navy and air force during World War II, this book tells their stories.
Code of Silence is not just an extraordinary war story, but a coming-of-age tale for the nation and its women. It brings to life a new Anzac, neither male nor battle-bloody. It is time to write these remarkable women back into our history, where they belong.
