Secret Sparrow

This is the story of women who fought during WWI, but not as nurses or ambulance drivers.

In 1917, sixteen-year-old Jean McLain is working as a post-office assistant in England. But when she wins a national Morse code competition, the British army makes a request Jean cannot refuse – to take a secret position as a signaller in France.

If Jean can keep the signals flowing between headquarters and the soldiers at the Front, Britain might possibly win the war.

However, the British army is determined to hide its desperation – and will go on to burn every document that showed how women and girls were working behind the scenes, in the trenches, and even in battles during World War I.

Decades later, an old woman tells the story of the telegraph girl: the friends she lost, the man who loved her, and the happiness she so surprisingly found again.

Based on true events, this story of adventure, courage, and unshakable loyalty restores women and girls to their place in history that the authorities tried to erase.

Secret Sparrow has been longlisted for the 2024 Book Links Award for Children's Historical Fiction.