Born and raised in Yorkshire, Flora Sandes was the only British woman to officially serve on the frontlines as a soldier in WW1.
At outbreak of the war, Flora and 36 other women volunteered for nursing duties in the Balkans. After witnessing the casualties and destruction, she was determined to fight the enemy head on. During the Great Retreat, and with the majority of the nurses killed, Flora had enough and was allowed to enroll in the infantry with Serbian Army and quickly rose through the ranks. She served on the front lines along with the men in the trenches of Albania, Serbia and Macedonia; in which she was severely wounded by a hand grenade during hand to hand combat while assaulting a heavily fortified hill.
She survived her wounds and was back on the lines the soon after...all this at the age of 38.
Her bravery in combat gained her not only several medals, to include the King George Star, but the respect of her peers. She loved being in the Army and after the war found it hard to adjust to everyday life.
She remained in the Balkans up until the outbreak of WW2, where at the age of 65, enlisted once more in order to go back into action. Eleven days later the Germans defeated the Yugoslav army and occupied the country. Flora was briefly imprisoned by the Gestapo. She finally returned to England where after a brief illness, she died on 24th November 1956 aged 80.
She had renewed her passport shortly before she died, in preparation for more adventures..and possibly more skullfucking. #zeroladies #hardcore #ww1 #zerofoxtrot #stayzero