There are some stories of World War II which were never told. Not because they were uninteresting, or unimportant, but because they couldn’t be told. Because those they belonged to were silent about their work, even after the war ended. And now, so many years on, they are finally ready to be told.
It is these tales, these lives so well-hidden, that Code of Silence unveils. Put together from a series of interviews, official records, and past writings, author Diana Thorp finally breaks this code which has been in place for so long and shares the stories of the Australian women involved in covert services. From codebreakers and cryptanalysis, to signallers and a coast watcher, the book is an intriguing (if at times dry) tell-all of their lives during the second World War.
Code of Silence is divided into chapters, arranged in two ways: chronologically, and by location or work type. It spans the entirety of the war, from those first pushing for women’s inclusion in forces and their reasons for signing up, to work in a range of different operations during the depths of WWII, and finally the end of the war and the celebrations it entailed.
Each of the women interviewed share their job, what it was like and some of the little details not always covered by the history books. It does not stop at the work site, either – this is a true tell-all, with women sharing their lives in the barracks, how they spent their free time, or made romance work in a time of war.
This breadth is impressive, and for those unfamiliar with the roles of women during WWII, it serves as an excellent overview. However, it could stand to go more in depth. It shares personal anecdotes and experiences, and some are rich and fascinating but many others are only brief moments – we get only a vague sense of who most of the interviewed women are. Other experiences are similar to each other, and little is done to make them feel unique and original. There are times when these ostensibly very personal stories feel thinly stretched across a more dry and factual account of the war.
Still, there is enough charm and individuality to inform the history this book explores and to make it, for the most part, feel real and personal. The book is well-researched (having taken 5 years to put together and with a lengthy bibliography for each chapter), and it comes through in the text. Code of Silence is the story of the ANZACs who were never truly acknowledged for their efforts; if you’re willing to read through its drier parts this history is one to be cherished.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Code of Silence by Diana Thorp is out now from Monash University Publishing. Find a copy at your local bookstore HERE.
Header image provided by Monash University Publishing.
