As food supplies dwindled during both world wars, thousands of British women took to the fields armed with hoes and dressed in coarse breeches.

“The Forgotten Army” as the Women’s Land Army became known as, is just one group of women who are celebrated at the Women and War exhibition which opened yesterday at the Imperial War Museum.

The mixed memorabilia exhibition tells the experiences of women in war through diaries, uniforms, costumes, letters, and a special audio guide.

On display is the diary of Nurse Edith Cavell, who was executed for espionage in 1915, and a wedding dress worn by a prisoner who married the British soldier who liberated her from Belsen. A camisole worn by a survivor of the sinking of the Lusitania and the uniform worn by Marlene Dietrich when she entertained soldiers during the Second World War are both on display.

The poignant but sometime humorous exhibition provides snapshots of women’s lives from the two world wars and other major conflicts. In one exert from Rwanda women, Christine Mukamuera tells how she lost her right eye in a machete attack in Butare in 1995.

“ . . . he hit me on my right eye with a machete and my left hand was cut off. He also hit me on my head and I lost consciousness. I came round at about 5pm. I noticed that my baby was covered in mud and blood.” The influence of war on popular culture is demonstrated by the displays of Goldie Hawn's outfits from the 1980’s film Private Benjamin and designer khaki boots and clothing worn by young women today.

Veteran war reporter Kate Adie, whose Gulf War helmet and kitbag also feature, has written a book ‘Corsets to Camouflage’ published in association with the exhibition.

Her book details the lives of servicewomen, nurses, secret agents, factory workers, and peacekeepers from the First World War to the present day.