Produced by Julia Neufeld, Suzanne Shell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) THE SWORD OF DEBORAH F. TENNYSON JESSE "Women are timid, cower and shrink At show of danger, some folk think; But men there are who for their lives Dare not so far asperse their wives. We let that pass--so much is clear, Though little dangers they may fear, When greater dangers men environ, Then women show a front of iron; And, gentle in their manner, they Do bold things in a quiet way." THOMAS DUNN ENGLISH. [Illustration: A "FANY" WITH THE AERIAL TORPEDO DROPPED INTO THE CAMP] THE SWORD OF DEBORAH _FIRST-HAND IMPRESSIONS OF THE BRITISH WOMEN'S ARMY IN FRANCE_ BY F. TENNYSON JESSE AUTHOR OF "SECRET BREAD," "THE MILKY WAY," ETC. NEW [Illustration] YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY _Copyright, 1919, By George H. Doran Company_ _Printed in the United States of America_ FOREWORD This little book was written at the request of the Ministry of Information in March of 1918; it was only released for publication--in spite of the need for haste in its compiling which had been impressed on me, and with which I had complied--shortly before Christmas. Hence it may seem somewhat after the fair. But it appears to me that people should still be told about the workers of the war and what they did, even now when we are all struggling back into our chiffons--perhaps more now than ever. For we should not forget, and how should we remember if we have never known? CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I A.B.C. 13 II THE FEVER CHART OF WAR 17 III BACKGROUNDS 26 IV MY FIRST CONVOY 34 V OUTPOSTS 41 VI WAACS: RUMOURS AND REALITIES 48 VII THE BROWN GRAVES 58 VIII VIGNETTES 65 IX EVENING 74 X NIGHT 84 XI "AND THE BRIGHT EYES OF DANGER" 93 XII REST 102 XIII GENERAL SERVANTS AND A GENERAL QUESTION 111 XIV NOTES AND QUERIES 123 ILLUSTRATIONS A "FANNY" WITH THE AERIAL TORPEDO DROPPED INTO THE CAMP _Frontispiece_ H. M. THE QUEEN INSPECTING A VAD DOMESTIC STAFF 48 A VAD MOTOR CONVOY 48