Uncover the story of the female test pilots serving the Third Reich – meet the online storytellers

Skills and stories to empower you, get ready for another instalment of Boundless online events.

As we head into the summer months, there are so many great online events available that'll enrich your knowledge in both stories of the past and skills for your future.

Ahead of the events, get to know the storytellers that'll take you down a part of history you never knew about as we head into the summer months.

These upcoming online events and more throughout the year come as a part of a Boundless membership.

Hear the extraordinary story of The Women Who Flew for Hitler with author Clare Mulley

In her acclaimed non-fiction book The Women Who Flew For Hitler, author Clare Mulley explores the intense, real-life rivalry between two female aviators in World War II Germany: Melitta von Stauffenberg and Hanna Reitsch.

“This is a really extraordinary story, because they were the only two female test pilots serving the Third Reich,” explains Clare. “They were both deep patriots, and both had a very strong sense of duty. They often did their test work from the same airfields, so there were an awful lot of parallels, but they absolutely loathed each other. By looking at them you get to tell a sort of 360° picture of the war.”

Both women are guaranteed a place in aviation history. Von Stauffenberg was a gifted engineer, who tested the Stuka dive bomber. Reitsch’s achievements included being the first person ever to fly a helicopter indoors, and piloting an early version of the V1 rocket (also known as the ‘doodlebug’).

But outside the cockpit their lives contrasted massively. Von Stauffenberg had to keep her Jewish heritage secret from the Nazis, and was involved in the famous Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler. Reitsch, meanwhile, was a fanatical supporter of the regime, and one of the last people in Hitler’s bunker at the end of the war.

“Most of my books [such as The Spy Who Loved and Agent Zo] have looked at extraordinary women who served the Allies,” says Clare, “and it’s easy to get behind them and empathise. This book is very different but I think it’s important that we don’t just celebrate, that we also try to understand how it was possible for the Nazis to corral the resources of their nation. It’s really important to consider things from both of these women’s perspectives, but also to take a step back and not be too emotionally involved. Both Hanna and Melitta worked to support the Nazi regime – they are on opposite ends of that spectrum, but it must still be remembered that this was the case.”

Information wasn’t always easy to uncover – Clare points out that, “whereas all the men’s papers ended up in the Freiburg military archive or the Deutsches Museum archive in Munich, Melitta’s papers were sent back to her family. Women get written out of history, even at the archival stage.”

“Quite often the hairs on my arms stand up, when I come across some aspect [of a story] that’s never been uncovered before,” she adds. “It’s absolutely a privilege and often a great adventure. I’ve been very lucky, because the stories that I’ve told on either side of the war have been incredibly dramatic, with very strong female leads that have, in the past, been badly told, under-told or not told at all.”

Watch Clare’s talk on The Women Who Flew for Hitler at 7pm on 14 July.

PexelsFollow along with WWT and learn to build your own garden wetland

Whether or not you’ve checked out our guide on building a garden pond, WWT is now here to provide some hands on tips to encourage wildlife into your garden and improve biodiversity. And you’re not limited to a traditional, dug-in-the-ground pond either. Wetlands can take any shape, size, and form.

In this online talk, an expert from WWT will guide you through everything you need to build a thriving wetland, all the way from planning, through to designing and executing.

As well as showing you how, you’ll also have an opportunity to ask questions at the end.

Attend the Create your own garden wetland with WWT event on 28th July at 7pm, and don’t forget you can also enjoy unlimited access to all nine WWT centres with your Boundless membership.

Sarah LangfordHear first-hand experiences of working within the law

Sarah Langford practiced as a barrister for many years, working primarily in criminal and family law. During her parental leave, she first wrote her Sunday Times Bestselling book “In Your Defence: Stories of Life and Law”, before going on to write her second book “Rooted: Stories of Life, Land, and a Farming Revolution” after taking over the running of her parent-in-law’s farm.

During her Boundless event, Sarah Langford will delve further into her bountiful knowledge of the legal systems that govern our lives, and the ways in which these old structures so often allude us with thankless legal jargon.

Tune into Sarah Langford’s event In your defence: true stories of life and law on 15 September at 7pm.