GIRL POWER - author Pat Jenkins, left, & Margaret Shelton, Rushden and District History Society chairman ET picture by Alison Bagley

A TOWN has paid tribute to a band of women who helped protect their community during the Second World War by telling their story.

Rushden and District History Society has produced a new book called Ladies in Green about the role of the Women's Volunteer Service (WVS) in the town.

Author Pat Jenkins was inspired to start work on the project after discovering nearly all the monthly reports produced by the WVS in Rushden during the conflict had survived.

She said: "I've no family connections with the WVS so when I started working on the project I was amazed by how much they did - it was truly astonishing.

"They worked closely with the billeting office, sorted out disputes between households and evacuees, helped to find evacuees clothes, furniture and places to live and helped them fill in emergency ration cards.

"The Beeches in Higham Road was used at that time as a centre for 'difficult' children and the WVS supplied it with clothes and toys as well going to play with the children and helping to feed them and bathe them.

"They were also responsible for distributing gas masks to toddlers and babies - I think the people of Rushden should be proud of them."

Ladies in Green begins with details about the formation of the Rushden branch under the leadership of the town's first female town councillor, Alice Unwin Muxlow.

It includes details of other activities, such as distributing hundreds of posters, visiting thousands of homes to collect aluminium, packing parcels for prisoners of war and helping to create camouflage nets.

The book features photographs and also includes extracts from contemporary newspaper articles.

The book costs £4.50 and is available from Osbornes Toy Shop in Rushden High Street or from Mrs Jenkins.