About Dorothy Lawrence
Dorothy Lawrence (26 January 1888 - 29 August 1964) was an English journalist who posed as a male soldier to report from the front line during World War I. In 1915, she went to France, where she managed to obtain a military uniform and a false identity. Upon her arrival in Albert, Somme, she found a soldier - Royal Engineers Sapper Tommy Dunn - who took her to the front lines. However, trench life affected her health, and after ten days, she revealed her sex, afraid that if she needed medical attention her true identity would be discovered and those who helped her would be punished. She was arrested and interrogated, suspected of being a spy or a Camp follower (prostitute). She was then sent home under a strict agreement not to write about her experiences. After the war, Lawrence published a memoir, but it was highly censored and not very successful. Her health began to fail, and she was committed to a mental institution, where she died 40 years later. In 2003, her story was rediscovered. Her book was reprinted and the Imperial War Museum included her experiences in an exhibition on women at war. Since 2015, several plays and films have been produced based on her story. Jones later found Lawrence's sexual assault allegations included in her medical records, held in the London Metropolitan Archives of Saint Bernard's Hospital although not available for general access. Lawrence's story later became part of an Imperial War Museum (IWM) exhibition covering women at war.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.