Over the next few days, those of us in Canada, the UK, the United States and other countries mark Remembrance Sunday, Remembrance Day, Armistice Day and Veterans Day.

These commemorations emerged following the First World War, when the Armistice agreement was signed between Germany and the Allies on 11 November 1918.

Today, we remember and honour those who served and sacrificed in both world wars and other conflicts and indeed continue to serve in the military.

As Rose Warner, I’m currently writing a women’s historical fiction/saga series about teachers and their pupils evacuated from London to the British countryside at the start of WWII. As such, remembrance ceremonies now hold even more significance for me.

Researching these books has given me a greater appreciation of how in the 1940s ordinary people, women especially, contributed to the war effort in so many ways.

In Britain and allied countries, women served in all branches of the armed forces and in civilian organizations like the Women’s Land Army.

From working as cooks, in offices, as drivers, mechanics and nurses to radar operators, photographers, in agricultural work and as test pilots, they took on new roles and gained new independence.

Married women with children ‘made do’ and managed wartime life, often as single parents with husbands away in the armed forces.

From dealing with rationing to running homes and taking care of families, while often working in factories, on the railways and in other jobs ordinarily done by men, these women also forged new, more independent lives.

Although my Teacher Evacuees series is fictional, my characters are inspired by real teachers and a British government evacuation scheme to keep children safe from bombing.

These teachers tried to maintain educational standards in makeshift classrooms with few supplies, visited evacuated children in foster billets, communicated with anxious parents and bridged their pupils’ pre-war and rural lives.

Visiting London’s Imperial War Museum and The Home Front Museum in Llandudno, Wales this past summer were poignant reminders of wartime sacrifice.

War museums testify to the human toll of past and ongoing conflicts and, especially in troubled times, encourage each of us to do what we can to work together for peace.

As I wear my new poppy pin badge, I’m inspired by the resilience, hope, courage and sacrifice of those who came before us, including women who are often ‘unsung heroines.’

I’m also honouring and remembering those in my own family who served and sacrificed.

My wartime fiction 

As Rose Warner, the first book in my WW2 Teacher Evacuees series will be out in ebook and paperback in September 2025 from Canelo.

And if you’re an audiobook listener, The Sweetheart Locket (as Jen Gilroy), is available in audio from all e-tailers worldwide (cover to the left) and in a special audio CD edition for UK libraries (cover to the right).

The Sweetheart Locket is a dual timeline, WWII and contemporary women’s fiction novel with family secrets, romance and female wartime espionage.