Spotlight on inspirational women of World War I

Strathaven Folk Club looks set to welcome a singer-songwriter to tell stories about remarkable women from the First World War.

Louise Jordan performs No Petticoats Here which brings together live music with her research for a one-woman performance on Friday, May 18 at the Bucks Head Hotel from 7.30pm.

The artist will tell the real-life stories of varied and remarkable women of the Great War and was inspired by the story of Dorothy Lawrence, an orphan whose guardian lived in Salisbury Cathedral Close. Dorothy dressed as a soldier in order to visit the Western Front and pursue her journalistic ambitions.

Louise quickly became fascinated by the stories of female ambulance drivers, scientists, footballers and spies.

No Petticoats Here is the culmination of 12 months of research that has taken Louise to the battlefields of France and Belgium, including the Somme and Ypres, as well as countless museums and historic research centres across the UK and western Europe.

Louise said: “This performance is very different to most concerts. It is enhanced by technology with pre- recorded soundtracks bringing the words of the women and the sounds they experienced to life.

“This soundscape weaves around the original songs I have written.”

She added: “The First World War too often remembers women as the mourners of the fallen, as frugal housewives ‘making do’ or angelic nurses caring patiently for the men who returned from the frontline.

“Through No Petticoats Here I remember some of the many women whose stories do not fit conveniently into boxes and whose experiences are both astonishing and relatable 100 years on.”