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But that didn't stop some women from joining – albeit in disguise as men.
Journalist and documentary producer Vivien Morgan has written a book,
Cross-dressed to Kill – women who went to war disguised as men, an in-depth look at the phenomenon, telling the stories of numerous women from England, Ireland, France, Prussia, Russia, Spain and Israel, from the 17th to the 20th centuries.
Among the meticulously researched stories are those of several women from Portsmouth.
The book has been something of a long-standing project for Vivien, inspired by her own experiences of travelling and reporting undercover during the 1980s in the closed communist countries.