Most have heard of the French Resistance during World War Two. Few are aware of the Belgian Resistance movements during the First World War and the enormous role they played in the defeat of the enemy. This book tells the story of those underground organisations in Belgium during the Great War and in particular the Prisoner Help Network . A very large proportion of the network were women. Other resistance organisations were l Assistance Discr te (The Discreet Assistance) and La Dame Blanche (The White Lady). The author's in-depth research using as a base, the recollections of New Zealand soldier Bert Hansen in particular and other Allied soldiers, allowed the details to be revealed for the first time. Learn who were those brave resistance people, what they did, how they did it and where they lived. They hid and cared for escaped allied soldiers in the face of a brutal occupation and saw the soldiers across the frontier into Holland to fight again. They were the true Obscure Heroes of Liberty.

Most have heard of the French Resistance during World War Two. Few are aware of the Belgian Resistance movements during the First World War and the enormous role they played in the defeat of the enemy. This book tells the story of those underground organisations in Belgium during the Great War 1914-1918 and in particular the 'Prisoner Help Network'. A very large proportion of the network were women. Other resistance organisations were l'Assistance Discrète (The Discreet Assistance) and La Dame Blanche (The White Lady). The author's in-depth research using as a base, the recollections of New Zealand soldier Bert Hansen in particular and other Allied soldiers, allowed the details to be revealed for the first time. Learn who were those brave resistance people, what they did, how they did it and where they lived. They hid and cared for escaped allied soldiers in the face of a brutal occupation and saw the soldiers across the frontier into Holland to fight again. They were the true Obscure Heroes of Liberty.

‘Fascinating’ Kavita Puri, BBC History Magazine ‘A fierce, intense picture of this aspect of the war . . . it will stay with me’ Elizabeth Buchan, author of Two Women in Rome On the evening of 31 March 1916, a 23-year-old woman was led from her prison cell in occupied Brussels. She wore a long blue coat and walked ‘like a soldier’. The chaplain asked if she would like a blindfold before her execution. ‘I am not afraid of looking into the rifles,’ she replied. ‘I have been expecting this for a long time.’ This is not a traditional history of the First World War. It is the untold story of the women of the resistance in Belgium and occupied France during that conflict. Rick Stroud describes how the actions of eight exceptionally brave women affected the course of the war. Before the Germans invaded, they were ordinary people: some, like Gabrielle Petit, were working-class; some, like Edith Cavell, were from the bourgeoisie; and some. like the Princess de Croÿ, were from the upper echelons of society. The youngest was only twenty-one. The women took enormous risks and produced extraordinary results: they established underground networks, transmitted coded information, carried out sabotage attacks and helped to repatriate Allied soldiers. What they did was dangerous and exhausting and the penalties were severe: three faced the firing squad. Recounting their heroism and their inevitable tragedies, I Am Not Afraid of Looking into the Rifles is an enthralling story, beautifully told. In revealing the inspiring work of these remarkable women, Rick Stroud will introduce you to an entirely new version of the ‘war to end all wars’.

This is a new release of the original 1928 edition.