An Audience with Christine M Cluley

Join us at Stratford Library as Christine M Cluley talks about her book, Lady Dorothie Feilding at War. This event is part of Stratford Library's Local Interest Coffee Mornings (find out more about them here). This is a drop in event, there is no need to book a ticket.

Lady Dorothie Feilding at War

Lady Dorothie Mary Evelyn Feilding-Moore MM was a British heiress who became a highly decorated volunteer nurse and ambulance driver on the Western Front during the First World War. The first woman to be awarded the Military Medal for bravery in the field, she also received the Croix de Guerre and the Order of Leopold II from the Belgians. Christine Cluley has liaised with members of the surviving family and been granted access to material beyond that available from the Feilding Archives. Dorothie’s family have generously shared personal recollections and allowed Christine access to previously unpublished material. These vivid letters reveal Lady Dorothie in her own words, allowing the reader to share her thoughts and actions directly. We see how being part of a loving family in a secure, upper-class household prepared her for the challenges, dangers and deprivations of the First World War and, early in her marriage, the potentially dangerous years in Ireland during the 1920s. Lady Dorothie was a heroine, but this account of her life reveals that she is more than a plaster saint, that she was a fully rounded woman, by turns determined, courageous, amusing and acerbic. After two years in the hell of the Western Front, she went home to get married – and after a very brief honeymoon, Lady D was back behind the wheel of an ambulance, ferrying the wounded around London.

About the Author

Christine M. Cluley is an award-winning author who has worked extensively on the history of Warwickshire and its people. She has written four previous books on local history, two published by Amberley. Christine has liasised closely with Dorothie Feilding's family in the creation of this title and has also made extensive use of the family archive in the Warwickshire Record Office. She has been involved with Compton Verney Art Gallery, Warwickshire since 2008 and very much enjoys interpreting the collections to the public and doing research behind the scenes.

Free refreshments provided. There will be copies of Christine's book available for sale at the event (cash or cheque only).

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]

Your information rights. To see how we use your personal data and what your information rights are, please read our overall customer privacy notice at https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/privacy which includes the contact details if you have a complaint about your information rights. For general enquiries, please contact Warwickshire County Council’s Customer Service Centre on 01926 410410. For information about how we process your personal data for this event, please see the Warwickshire Libraries Privacy Notice, the Warwickshire County Council Privacy Notice and the Eventbrite Privacy Policy.

Host or Publisher Stratford upon Avon Library & Information Centre