 The advent of war in September 1939 did not diminish Gibbons 's creative energy . In November she began a series of articles , " A Woman 's Diary of the War " , for St Martin 's Review , the journal of the London church of St Martin @-@ in @-@ the @-@ Fields . The series ran until November 1943 , and includes many of Gibbons 's private reflections on the conflict . In October 1941 she wrote : " [ T ] he war has done me good ... I get a dour satisfaction out of managing the rations , salvaging , fire watching , and feeling that I am trying to work for a better world " . In July 1940 Webb enlisted in the Middlesex Regiment , and the following year was commissioned into the King 's Royal Rifle Corps . He later served overseas , mostly in Cairo . 
