One of the gifts that the extensive digitisation of historical archives has unlocked is the power to reclaim untold stories from the past, especially those belonging to women. The power of telling a previously untold story was so expertly managed by Clare Mulley in her Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction shortlisted work Agent Zo, but it can sometimes be a challenge to source such stories to tell.

Where to find such inspiration? Findmypast has been collating stories of incredible women and their often unsung achievements through a series of collections, all made up of clippings from its extensive newspaper archive.

Take, for example, a collection celebrating the brave women of the Special Operations Executive. Formed in 1940, this British organisation employed some 3,200 women to conduct espionage, sabotage and reconnaissance in German-occupied Europe, much like the work enacted by Elżbieta Zawacka, otherwise known as Agent Zo.

This collection contains names like Muriel Byck, ‘an accomplished linguist,’ who at the age of only 25 died on active service. Take also the name of Jacqueline Nearne, who was parachuted into France, as Elżbieta Zawacka was parachuted into German-occupied Poland. Yolande Beekman, a recently married 32-year-old wireless operator, was another woman who would not survive her war service, being murdered at Dachau whilst holding hands with a fellow woman operative. For a writer, such fragments offer not only the structure of biography, but the emotional depth that together shape a compelling narrative.

Could you tell these women’s stories of bravery, and unravel the dynamics of the secrecy and the sacrifice they endured?

Perhaps your inspiration could lie where the ordinary and the extraordinary meet. Take, for example, the story of Mary Ann Cotterill. A woman overlooked by history, but during the Second World War at 83 she made the headlines as she answered the call for munitions workers in her home city of Birmingham. Following on from her service in the munitions factories in the First World War, she was accompanied by another veteran at her work, 64-year-old Ada Bunn, and together they ‘turned out a total of specialised component parts for 300 aeroplanes’ every week.

Could you dig into the seemingly ordinary lives of Mary Ann and Ada, to uncover the places and events that shaped them into doing something extraordinary, through their resilience and strong sense of duty?

Or you might want to discover new angles on more well-known stories. The figure of Josephine Baker, the barrier-breaking musician and French Resistance fighter, is a famous one, but there are always new nuances to be discovered. For example, in Findmypast’s Josephine Baker collection, there is a clipping from London’s Evening News telling of Josephine’s refusal to continue performing in Alexandria during the 1930s, after having been insulted by someone in the crowd.

Could you be the one to investigate this incident further, and discover its importance to the life and career of Josephine Baker, exploring the intersection of race and performance during the 1930s?

With so many stories of extraordinary women to be found across Findmypast’s collections and newspapers, and hidden details about their lives and work ready to be brought into the light, there is a remarkable opportunity to reclaim forgotten narratives from the past and present them to the readers of today. These are the details that can transform and inspire a narrative, and so, whose story will you choose to tell?

Rose Goodall is a published author and Newspaper Licensing Manager at Findmypast, where she works to bring the past to life through the power of storytelling.

If you’re interested in researching women who have been ignored by the historical record, and bring their stories to life yourself, browse the wealth of resources available on Findmypast – sponsor of the 2026 Women’s Prize for Non-Fiction.