The compelling and as-yet-untold story of the Australian women whose secret work helped to end World War II.
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 Asia-Pacific, the Australian government called in a new weapon: women. Within this female arsenal was a top-secret group focused on signals intelligence.
These young women, many 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 inched closer to home, they became our secret weapon, intercepting enemy messages and passing intelligence between local networks and allies across the globe, from Bletchley Park to the United States and across the Asia-Pacific. Some information was so sensitive it was burned to ensure its security. Their covert work helped the Allies win the pivotal battles of the Coral Sea and Midway, and plot the assassination of the Japanese commander behind the Pearl Harbour bombings.
When war ended, the women rejoiced. Demobilised and reminded of their oaths of secrecy, they returned to civilian lives. Some followed careers, others married and raised families. Their service remained hidden until recently.
This 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 bloodied from battle. It is time to write these remarkable women back into our history, where they belong.
'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
