Elsie and Mairi Go to War by Diane Atkinson |
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| Thursday, 14 January 2010 10:38 | ||||
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As the title suggests this is the true story about two very different women who end up playing a vey significant part in the First World War. The 'Angels of Pervyse' as they became known, were highly decorated war celebrities, visited on the front line by not only journalists and photographers, but also royals and VIP’s. Written by Diane Atkinson a noted author and lecturer on women’s history, this is the extraordinary tale of two women on the Western Front who used their love of motorcycling and their riding skills to great advantage. Not only in the theatre of war, but also to raise funds for their front line hospital/refuge. They met at a Dorset motorcycle club in 1912 and became two of the best known female riders of the time, skilfully and successfully taking part in many motorcycle events in and around the area. Although quite different in terms of age and background, they gelled and excelled and wrote in the motorcycle press of the time for the benefit of other females interested in what was predominately a masculine world.  When they met, Elsie Knocker was a thirty year-old motorcycling divorcee known for her bottle-green Dunhill leathers, and Mairi Chisolm was a brilliant eighteen-year old mechanic, living at home borrowing tools from her brother. In 1914 their love of adventure resulted in them responding to calls to assist in the war effort, so they went to London 'to do their bit', and soon became two of just four women on the front line in Belgium driving ambulances and using their sidecar outfit to take the injured to military hospitals. Quickly becoming frustrated by the number of men dying of shock in the back of their vehicles, they set up their own first-aid post on the front line in the village of Pervyse, near Ypres to give them a better chance of surviving the trip to hospital. Despite working tirelessly, both as nurses and drivers and riders, risking their lives working under sniper fire and heavy bombardment, they still found time to write for the motorcycle press and compile their diaries. Even when they had breaks back in the UK they would tour on their motorbike with sidecar to raise money to help run the post. They were both glamorous and influential and became as famous as many of the celebrities that helped run some of the fund raising events. For four years they had the time of their lives until they were nearly killed by arsenic gas in the spring of 1918 which forced them to return home. Despite Mairi thinking that they would open a motorcycle dealership after the war thanks to their many motorcycle contacts it never happened. They parted company and never saw each other again, both in their own way having trouble adjusting to peacetime. It has to be said that the actual motorcycle content of this book is relatively small, but that should not deter anybody from reading this fascinating work. With the current interest in war history and many tours visiting battle sites in Europe, this book will assist in understanding exactly how bad things were, as well as giving a brief insight into motorcycling at the time. If you are looking for a well written educational read about real people and bikes then this has got to be high on your list. It is published by Preface (Random House) and costs £20 in hardback. ISBN 9781848091337 Available in all good bookshops, or in case of difficulty direct from www.randomhouse.co.uk Review by Ian Kerr
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