Iris Carpenter

Iris Nell Carpenter Akers (September 21, c. 1904 – October 7, 1997) was a British journalist, author and war correspondent known for her frontline publications during World War II as a female journalist. Carpenter started her writing career in 1924 but resigned from her position to focus on raising her two children. When the Second World War broke out in England, Carpenter returned to journalism and worked with the Daily Herald, the London Daily Express and as a BBC broadcaster. During the war, Carpenter and her family moved to the United States after her position as a frontline war correspondent with the British army was denied. She began to write for the Boston Globe

In 1933, Carpenter stepped down from her position as a journalist to focus on raising her two children, Brian Scruby and Patricia Perry, with her first husband, Charles Scruby who was known to be a successful property developer. she was accepted and joined the U.S. 1st Army as a war correspondent and documented the American involvement during the war. and that American officials acknowledged that women excelled at covering specific areas of war. Other reports included her experiences at hospitals and war-torn villages. as they advanced in France towards an immediate beachhead at Normandy and alongside the Allied forces as the German troops retreated across the River Orne. Akers was the operations officer of the First Army, the American army she had been following during the war.

She later settled in Virginia, United States. Her work with the BBC broadcast and the Voice of America remains in the archives today. both of which were featured on the Boston Globe. The memoir talks about the uncertainty and vulnerability female reporters faced on site, while also encountering various gendered rules they had to agree upon to keep their positions.

Her fearlessness brought her to follow the US Army from the Battle of Arnhem through Antwerp, Aachen and the Rhine. She was also present during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest and stayed with the army until the Battle of Bulge. These newspaper clips have now become important pieces of history that she had risked her life to gather. Her memoir depicts her journey as well as stories of American soldiers caring for each other throughout the war. These accomplishments paved the way for future female journalists to gain the same treatment as male journalists in the field.

Publications Memoir: No Woman's World (1946)