Launch of Serbian language edition of Captain Flora Sandes’ biography
The Serbian language edition of Captain Flora Sandes’ biography was launched at the British Residence on 24 April.
The book ‘A Fine Brother: The Life of Captain Flora Sandes’ by the British author Louise Miller, was published in the UK in 2012. Captain Flora Sandes was the only British woman to serve as a soldier in the First World War.
Her Majesty’s Ambassador Michael Davenport, the author, Dejan Papic the Director of Laguna Publishing House and Professor Slobodan Markovic addressed the media and spoke about the inspirational Englishwoman who became a hero and media sensation when she fought for the Serbian Army and pursued a distinguished career in its ranks as an officer.
Ambassador Davenport said:
Flora’s heroic life in uniform, but also her struggle for the rights of women and civic liberties, is an uncontroversial and very important chapter of our bilateral history. As we approach the First World War Centenary, we’re hoping that this book will bring back to life the memory of Flora and all other British and Allied women who supported the Serbs under those difficult conditions.
The book follows Flora’s story, from her childhood in Victorian England, her mission to Serbia as a Red Cross volunteer and subsequent military enrolment, her adventures across Europe, America and Africa, her marriage to a fellow officer and her survival of a Gestapo prison during the Second World War, to her final years in Suffolk.
The book presentation was followed by a reception, attended by a number of journalists, historians and representatives of local institutions, including those Serbian towns and municipalities who still organise annual commemorative events for members of the British medical missions, who lived and worked with the Serbs during the First World War.