A UNIVERSITY of Worcester academic will speak alongside war correspondent Kate Adie at a lecture about the role of women in war.

Professor Maggie Andrews, Professor of Cultural History at the University, will sit on the expert panel at the ‘Beyond the Trenches – The Legacy of Women in World War One’ event in London, organised by veterans’ mental health charity, Combat Stress.

Professor Andrews, who is working to an advisor to the BBC on their World War One centenary commemorations, has carried out extensive research into the social and cultural history of Britain in the 20th century, with a particular emphasis on domesticity and femininity.

The lecture pays tribute to the contribution women made to the First World War, their legacy and the role they played in recognising the need for a rehabilitation programme for the thousands of men returning from the front line suffering from shell shock, many of whom were confined to mental war hospitals and asylums.

The panel will discuss the contribution made by these women, and by their modern-day contemporaries in dealing with the consequences of war and conflict today.

Professor Andrews explains: “The effects of war are far reaching; it fractures families, destroys lives. It is important to recognise those women who in their everyday domestic lives have to cope with the consequences of war and conflict.”

The lecture will take place on Thursday July 3 at the Royal Geographical Society in London. For more information, or to purchase tickets, contact Tori Monks at victoria.monks@combatstress.org.uk.

Combat Stress is the UK’s leading military charity specialising in the care of veterans’ mental health. Founded shortly after World War One, in 1919, they provide clinical and welfare support to over 5,400 veterans, including those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan.