Second World War stories inevitably often feature men but Northern Ireland's women at war were a force to be reckoned with from the Blitz to Bletchley Park.
In 1941, as the Belfast Blitz unfolded, a remarkable story was taking place at Belfast Zoo. This is the story of Sheila the Elephant and her keeper Denise.
10th November 1942 marked the arrival of US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in Northern Ireland. She carried out a whirlwind 2-day tour of Belfast and Derry.
Between 13th-17th October 1942, Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal visited Northern Ireland with a focus on the role of women in wartime.
Women in the Services
Marjorie Wilson Anderson
Senior Commander | 192396
WARNING: This article on Senior Commander Marjorie Wilson Anderson deals with the issue of suicide. Miss Anderson died in Ballymena, Co. Antrim in 1943.
Jeannie Elizabeth Armstrong
Wren | 41491
Wren Jeannie Elizabeth Armstrong died on 21st August 1943 at home in Belfast. She served in her hometown at the Naval base H.M.S. Caroline.
Doreen Meta Brown
Private | W/38803
Private Doreen Meta Brown of Downpatrick, Co. Down died on 6th June 1941 aged 18 years old while serving in the British Army Auxiliary Territorial Service.
Joy Clements
WAAF
Joy Clements was best known as a renowned artist influenced by Carl Gustav Jung's dream theories but during the Second World War, she served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force.
Elizabeth Joyce Coleman
Aircraftwoman 1st Class | 2145035
Aircraftwoman 1st Class Elizabeth Joyce Coleman was known as Joy. Born in Dublin, she served in the Women's Auxiliary Air Force during the Second World War.
Elizabeth Cooke
Aircraftwoman 1st Class | 2098275
On 21st November 1945, Aircraftwoman1st Class Elizabeth Cooke died in Belfast, Co. Antrim. She had served with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force in the war.
Rosemary Elizabeth Cox
Leading Aircraftwoman | 2145916
Rosemary Elizabeth Cox died on 3rd April 1945 at Purdysburn Fever Hospital, Co. Down. Although born in Dublin, Ireland, she lived in Belfast, Co. Antrim.
Kathleen Cuthbert
Civilian | Bletchley Park Operative
Born in Doagh, Co. Antrim, Kathleen Cuthbert went on to work on some of the highest level, top-secret work in the United Kingdom during the Second World War.
Ruth Hannah Dickson
Sister | 223772
Sister Ruth Hannah Dickson of Eglish, Co. Tyrone died on 24th December 1944. The Presbyterian Missionary served as a field nurse in China and Singapore.
Emma Fleck
Sister | 345058
Sister Emma Fleck of Dervock, Co. Antrim died on 22nd November 1947 having served with Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service in Singapore.
Annie Mary Gardner
Sister | 218360
Sister Annie Mary Gardner of Stranocum, Co. Antrim died on 7th December when passenger steamship SS Ceramic went down after a torpedo attack from U-515.
Mabel Glass
Air Transport Auxiliary Pilot
Born in Whitehead, Co. Antrim, Mabel Glass was a pioneering aviator, competing in races and serving in the Air Transport Auxiliary alongside Amy Johnson.
Priscilla Corry Gotto
Captain
Captain Priscilla Corry Gotto volunteered in the Mechanised Transport Corps in Belfast, Co. Antrim at her time of death in a B17 on 25th November 1944.
Nora Hughes
Sergeant | W/758
Sergeant Nora Hughes of Belfast served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service in the Second World War. She died in her hometown on 23rd March 1946.
Rebecca McCabe
Wren
Wren Rebecca McCabe served at H.M.S. Caroline, Belfast from 1942-1944 before moving to the Signals Distribution Office in the run-up to D-Day.
Elizabeth Scott
Corporal | W/49605
Corporal Elizabeth Scott of the Auxiliary Territorial Service died on 8th August 1944. Her grave is in Carnmoney Cemetery, Newtownabbey, Co. Antrim.
Jocelyn Topping
Leading Aircraftwoman | 2165455
Leading Aircraftwoman Jocelyn Topping from Portadown, Co. Armagh died on 26th June 1947 while serving with the Women's Auxiliary Air Force after the war.
Stories of women in Northern Ireland
Matilda Violet Bleakley
Civilian
Matilda Violet Bleakley lived at 8 Thorndyke Street, Belfast. She was the wife of Thomas William Bleakley. Matilda died during the Belfast Blitz in 1941.
Margaret Buick
Civilian
Born in Armoy, Co. Antrim, Margaret Buick was only 9 years old when she died as a result of the Luftwaffe attacks on Glasgow, Scotland on 14th March 1941.
Olive Calder
Civilian
Olive Calder of Belfast worked as a housekeeper in London when she died on 12 October 1940 as a result of the Luftwaffe bombing of the city.
Beatrice Harriett Maude Chambers
Civilian
Mrs. Beatrice Harriett Maude Chamber born in Ballymoney, Co. Antrim died on 18th December 1942 as the Luftwaffe attacked the coastal town of Eastbourne.
Eleanor Ida Sinclair Collen
Civilian
Eleanor Ida Sinclair Collen of Dungannon, Co. Tyrone was a nurse in England. She died on 23rd May 1943 when Luftwaffe bombers attacked Bournemouth, Dorset.
Mary Ann Crotty
Civilian
Mary Ann Crotty lived at 8 Thorndyke Street, Belfast. She shared a home with her sister Matilda. Both women lost their lives during the Belfast Blitz.
Ann Margaret Devlin
Civilian
Ann Margaret Devlin of Gortin, Co. Tyrone died on 25th September 1940 as a result of injuries sustained when the Luftwaffe bombed London.
Laura Jane Donnell
Civilian
Laura Jane Donnell was born in Co. Londonderry but lived in England at her time of death on 17th April 1941 when the Luftwaffe raided the city of London.
Emily Douglas
Civilian
Young mother Emily Douglas died alongside five of her young children as Luftwaffe bombs fell on North Belfast during the Belfast Blitz on 16th April 1941.
Emma Duffin
Voluntary Aid Detachment Nurse
Emma Duffin is best known in Northern Ireland as a nurse with the Voluntary Aid Detachment during The Great War and particularly through the Belfast Blitz.
Emma Florence Frazer
Civilian
State Registered Nurse Emma Florence Frazer of Warrenpoint, Co. Down died on 16th November 1943 at 1 Lonsdale Villas, Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom.
Madge Guiney
Civilian
Madge Guiney was the daughter of a couple of Dromore, Co. Down. She died as a result of the Luftwaffe bombing of Glasgow and Clydebank on 15th March 1941.
Sarah Guiney
Civilian
Sarah Guiney and her family hailed from Dromore, Co. Down. She died as a result of the Luftwaffe bombing of Glasgow and Clydebank on 15th March 1941.
Sara B. Harper
Civilian
Sara B. Harper of Willowholme Street, Belfast was a passenger on S.S. Athenia when it came under attack from U-30 in the Atlantic in 1939.
Sarah Hughes
Civilian
Civilian Sarah Hughes of 12 Thorndyke Street, Belfast died on 17th April 1941 at the Royal Victoria Hospital following the Luftwaffe's air raid on the city.
Edith Kohner
Jewish Refugee
Edith Kohner, her husband Franz, and two young children came to Northern Ireland as Jewish refugees escaping Hitler's Nazi persecution in Czechoslovakia.
Ruth Kohner
Jewish Refugee
Ruth Kohner made a life in Northern Ireland after escaping to Millisle, Co. Down in 1939 due to Nazi persecution of Jews in her homeland of Czechoslovakia.
Maureen Mathes
Civilian
Maureen Mathes left Northern Ireland in 1944. The Derry girl became one of the first Irish GI brides to land in America arriving with husband Bob.
Delia Murphy
Entertainer
Delia Murphy was known as "the mammy of them all" in Irish folk music circles. The people of Belfast remember a heroic performance during the Belfast Blitz.
Mary Stevenson
Civilian
Mary Stevenson and her family hailed from Dromore, Co. Down. She died as a result of the Luftwaffe bombing of Glasgow and Clydebank on 15th March 1941.
Maria Todd
Civilian
Mrs. Maria Todd, the organist at Tartarghan Parish Church for over 50 years died following an accident in the blackout on 10th October 1940.
Maria Wright
Civilian
Maria Wright and her family hailed from Dromore, Co. Down. She died as a result of the Luftwaffe bombing of Glasgow and Clydebank on 15th March 1941.
Moya Woodside
Mass Observation Diarist
Moya Woodside's dealings with working-class families guided her Mass Observation diary entries following the Belfast Blitz of April 1941.
Recommended Reading
A Nurse in the Belfast Blitz : The Diary of Emma Duffin 1939-42
Emma Duffin was a nurse who saw service in both World Wars and wrote in great detail in journals during this time. This is her account of wartime Belfast.
'My Time In The War: An Irishwoman's Diary' by Romie Lambkin offers an interesting female perspective on life in Northern Ireland in the Second World War.
