Flora Sandes, the only British woman who served as a soldier during WWI

From the Vintage News:

Flora Sandes was the only British woman who served as a soldier during the WWI; she was an officer of the Royal Serbian Army. It all began when she traveled the Kingdom of Serbia as a St. John Ambulance volunteer.

In sight of the tragedy of the war happening there, Sandes enrolled in the Serbian army, and very soon she got promoted to the rank of Sergeant Major. After the war, she got the rank of Captain and was decorated with seven medals.

Author, Alan Burgess, has written a fascinating account of Flora Sandes "The Lovely Sergeant". I have a hardback copy of the 1964 edition, which I have treasured since a youngester.

You can "borrow" an online copy here @ Internet Archive

Read more here @ wikipedia, @ European Studies blog, @ Imperial War Museum

‘Sex and the Constitution’

Geoffrey R. Stone, author of Sex & the Constitution, guest blogs at the Washington Post, discussing the attitude of Ancient Greeks to sex:

I thought it might it interesting in this piece to elaborate a bit on that observation and to give you at least a glimpse of that world. The following is a brief excerpt from the chapter in “Sex and the Constitution” on “The Ancient World” 

From the sixth to the fourth century B.C., Greek culture attained its most impressive achievements in literature, philosophy, politics, science and the arts. The Greeks of this era generally eschewed the legal enforcement of moral or religious notions of “right sexual conduct.” Classical Greek morality and law focused not on sexual sin, but on whether an individual’s conduct was harmful to others. To the ancient Greeks, eros was a primal force that permeated all facets of life.

read entire blog post here @ the Washington Post

About the Book:

Beginning his volume in the ancient and medieval worlds, Geoffrey R. Stone demonstrates how the Founding Fathers, deeply influenced by their philosophical forebears, saw traditional Christianity as an impediment to the pursuit of happiness and to the quest for human progress. Acutely aware of the need to separate politics from the divisive forces of religion, the Founding Fathers crafted a constitution that expressed the fundamental values of the Enlightenment.