Stephen Dosters’ mother’s memoir, Her Finest Hour, receives an outstanding endorsement !
Terry Terry-Smith Doster WAFF WWII
‘Her Finest Hour’ – review
Second World War memoirs from British servicewomen are comparatively rare but Stephen Dosters’ compilation of the memories of his now 91 year-old mother, Marjorie Terry-Smith, is a valuable contribution to making up that deficiency. The book covers the first 30 years of her life including memories of a middle class childhood growing up in Britain between the wars and her experiences as one of Britain’s first stewardesses aboard BOAC after the War.
The bulk of the book though, deals with her wartime experiences and the section devoted to this period is a treasure trove of anecdotes packed with incident. Dramatic, humorous, romantic, tragic and simply bizarre episodes tumble off the pages. The nonchalant way in which the Terry-Smiths learned of the outbreak of war is a timely counter to the stereotyped image of the British family huddled grimly around the radio. Her startling confrontation with Winston Churchill is a real gem. Bombed out of her family home (twice!) ‘Terry’ as she was known to friends and colleagues, joined the WAAF aged 17 and served in the operations rooms at several airfields around England during the Battle of Britain and then right through the War up to the frustration of being ‘demobbed’ in its aftermath. This book, told unvarnished in the first person, is a must for anyone wishing to get a woman’s perspective on the Second World War and a rare testimony from the ‘lower ranks’ of the British armed forces.
The book was originally written for an American audience. so American spellings, expressions and explanations occasionally jar a little in the memoirs of a very English woman but these are minor issues in what is a revealing and fascinating account of a woman in the front line.”
- Graeme Oram, United Kingdom