Raynes Minns is an artist and author with a particular interest in the role of women during World War II. She studied theatre design at the Central School of Art and worked as an assistant designer to Charles Dunlop, before beginning her life-long research into women and war.

Her best known book is Bombers and Mash, an account of the Second World War from the domestic perspective. This definitive account was the first non-fiction work to be published by Virago, and has been reprinted many times, with extracts and chapters appearing in magazines and anthologies worldwide. Raynes has also contributed research to television documentaries on WWII, as well as teaching art courses.