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urn:uuid:f56ab50d-1eb9-4168-930a-d0b82c96cbfb 03 15 9781805114222 00 EB E101 10 01 01 The Birds That Wouldn’t Sing Remembering the D-Day Wrens 1 A01 Justin Smith Justin Smith is Professor of Cinema and Television History at De Montfort University Leicester, where he is Director of the Research and Innovation Institute in Arts, Design and Performance. Since 2010 he has been Principal Investigator on the AHRC-funded projects Channel 4 and British Film Culture (2010-14), Fifty Years of British Music Video (2015-2018), Transforming Middlemarch (2022-3) and Adapting Jane Austen for Educational and Public Engagement (2024-5). He is the author of Withnail and Us: Cult Film and Film Cults in British Cinema (I.B. Tauris, 2010), and co-author (with Sue Harper) of British Film Culture in the 1970s: The Boundaries of Pleasure (EUP, 2012). With Karen Savage, he is the co-author of ‘Deference, Deferred: Rejourn as Practice in Familial War Commemoration’, in Pinchbeck, M. and Westerside, A. (eds) (2018), Staging Loss. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-97970-0_3 . Smith’s interest in digital innovations in the archive is illustrated by https://middlemarch.dmu.ac.uk/ (2023) which is considered to be the first digital genetic edition of a screen adaptation of 19th Century literature. Smith is an archival historian with special interests in post-war British cinema, television and popular music, exploring issues of cultural identity, popular memory and family history. https://www.dmu.ac.uk/about-dmu/academic-staff/technology/justin-smith/justin-timothy-smith.aspx 01 eng 00 562 03 04 D810.W7 10 HIS027000 23 History 23 Wrens 23 D-Day 23 European Studies: English and Irish Studies 10 HIS027090 23 Archival History 10 HIS058000 23 Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay 10 BIO008000 10 HIS015070 23 Operation Overlord 23 Women's Military Service 23 World War II 23 Women's Royal Naval Service 23 Family History 23 Letters 23 Memoir 01 06 03 00 This compelling book offers a unique perspective on D-Day and its aftermath through the personal testimonies of the Wrens who worked for Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay during Operation Overlord. Drawing on public and private archives, it reveals the untold stories of the women serving in the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS), balancing their wartime contributions with the strictures of secrecy and censorship. The narrative is framed by letters from these Wrens, which provide intimate glimpses into both the personal and professional challenges they faced during World War II.The book captures the atmosphere of war as experienced by British auxiliaries. It highlights the Wrens' vital but often overlooked role in the D-Day planning effort and beyond, revealing the surreal coexistence of the ordinary and extraordinary in wartime. Focusing in particular on the wartime archive of one of the Wrens, Joan Prior, the author brings to life the contribution of these women to the war effort, while also offering insights into British, French, and German morale and culture. This thoughtful and moving account adds depth to the broader historical narrative of World War II, making it a valuable addition for both the general reader and the professional historian. 04 00 Acknowledgements List of Figures and Videos The Wrennery Prologue: Letters from an Unknown Woman PART I — Overlord Embroidery 1. Wrens’ Calling (London, 1942–1944) 2. Coming of Age (Southwick Park, Summer 1944) PART II — The Far Shore 3. Liberation (Granville, September 1944) 4. The Cutty Wren (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Autumn 1944) PART III — The Song of Joannah 5. Victory in Europe (especially Paris and Somerset, Spring 1945) 6. Occupational Therapy (Germany, 1945–1946) Epilogue: Keeping Mum Select Family Tree Bibliography Index Open Book Publishers 01 Open Book Publishers 04 01 20241219 02 WORLD 06 15 9781805114192 06 15 9781805114208 06 15 9781805114215 06 15 9781805114239 06 15 9781805114222 WORLD 09 Open Book Publishers 20 02 5.99 GBP WORLD