Code of Silence

How Australian Women helped win the War

By Diana Thorp

Published by Monash University Publishing

RRP $37.99 in paperback

ISBN 9781923192416

For Diana Thorp the prospect of writing a book was initially daunting. Her focus had been as a journalist, historian and then teacher. She has worked for The Australian and The Times in London. After lecturing in journalism for many years, her passion for history inspired her to become a teacher. She currently works at a Melbourne girls’ school.

It was her feature article on Australian WW II SOE operative Nancy Wake that inspired her interest in the covert roles performed by women during the war.

Women of course were initially barred from entering military service but their recruitment, at lower rates of pay, freed men to serve overseas.

Some of their service is well-known now.

One of the first women to recognise the need for signals training was Florence McKenzie, known as Mrs Mac. Even before the war, she has begun to train girls in Morse Code to release men from the post office.

As the war progressed, women were fulfilling a variety of roles across Australia. Some intercepted enemy messages and relayed intelligence worldwide, from Bletchley Park to Washington and across the Asia-Pacific.

It’s only in very recent years the story of Brisbane’s ‘garage girls’ has emerged.

What makes this book extraordinary is that the women speak of their experiences firsthand. They were willing recruits but most returned to civilian life at war’s end, having made lifelong friends among their fellow recruits.

Based on interviews with the women who served across the three services, this book reminds us that winning wars is more than the bloody battles of which military history abounds. It’s about the quiet commitment of people whose contribution is rarely noticed.