The Real Ladies of Waterloo Bridge

I was this close to giving the history posts a break. Honestly. I’ve been knee-deep in the past for a while now, and I figured I should let the dust settle a bit. But then I got an inbox full of emails—many of you asking for more stories about women in history. Especially the hidden ones. The overlooked, underpaid, quietly brilliant ones.

So… okay. You asked for it. And this one? It’s a doozy.

Let’s talk about Waterloo Bridge—and the women who built it.

No, not metaphorically. I mean actually built it.

During World War II, while the men were off fighting, a lot of women stepped into their boots. That part, you’ve probably heard. What you might not know is that one of the things they built, with their own hands, was Waterloo Bridge in London.

I know. It sounds like something your grandmother might say at the dinner table and everyone nods and smiles and assumes she’s exaggerating.

Except it’s true.

More than 350 women worked on the bridge—welding, riveting, pouring concrete, doing night shifts under blackout conditions while German bombs fell. They did the job because it needed doing.

And, naturally, they were paid less than the men had been.

Because of course they were. To quote that wise philosopher Iago from Aladdin, “I’m gonna die of not-surprise!”

And just to keep things on brand: once the war ended, the women disappeared from the story. Not physically—but from the records, the ceremonies, the official tellings. When Waterloo Bridge was finally completed in 1945, there was no mention of the women who’d kept it going. No plaque. No names.

It wasn’t until decades later that someone (a historian named Christine Wall) uncovered old photos of women working on the bridge—one welder in particular, known only as Dorothy. And suddenly, the stories the boatmen on the Thames had whispered for years about the “Ladies’ Bridge” weren’t just urban legend.

They were fact.

It’s the sort of story that makes you want to cheer and gnash your teeth at the same time. Women building a literal bridge in wartime? Heroic. The world conveniently forgetting they did it? Maddening.

But now, at least, we know. And I had a little fun this week imagining what those days might’ve looked like. I asked MidJourney to conjure up a couple of images—tributes, really—to those women in overalls and headscarves, shaping steel while the world burned overhead.

You’ll find one at the top of this post, and the other just below . They’re not photographs (the real photographs are strictly controlled), and it’s not history—but it’s inspired by both.

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P.S. If you’re feeling cinematic, there’s a classic film called Waterloo Bridge starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor. It’s set during WWI and has absolutely nothing to do with the women who built the real bridge—but it is a gorgeous old-school tearjerker. You can stream it on HBO Max, the Roku Channel, or rent it on Amazon. Popcorn recommended.

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