[1] Her upbringing and exposure to cinema helped her successfully land a position as a film critic in 1924 through a British publication called The Picture Show.

Carpenter decided to return to her career as a journalist and began working with the Daily Herald in London to cover special war reports such as the Blitz.

In 1942, Carpenter applied to the British Expeditionary Force, convinced that her previous experiences as a war correspondent earned her spot alongside the Allied invasion of Europe.

[6] Iris documented the discrimination and hostility of the British War Office toward female reporters, emphasising that the BWO felt that women would distract their soldiers from their duties.

[7] Carpenter was fully accredited to accompany the First Army in December 1944[8] as they advanced in France towards an immediate beachhead at Normandy and alongside the Allied forces as the German troops retreated across the River Orne.

[2] During one of her visits to London, Carpenter was accused of violating press regulations and policies when she transferred her position along the frontlines with the American troops.

Following the Paris liberation in August 1944, Carpenter continued to report on the war despite having shattered an eardrum, being caught in a storm, and travelling under precarious circumstances.

[2] Carpenter documented the participation of American troops, the reactions of local individuals toward Nazi oppression, experiences of wounded soldiers, concentration camps, and the stories of medical staff.

[9] Iris Carpenter died on October 7, 1997, at the age of 93 due to heart failure at North Arundel Hospital in Glen Burnie.

[2] Carpenter was known to be one of the few women to report the Allied invasions in Europe from June 1944, making her publications more pronounced and well known during World War II.

The articles published across UK and U.S. media ports along with her memoir, No Woman's World, include personal anecdotes and frontline reports based on interviews held from hospitals in France and Germany, along with documentation of the liberation of Nazi concentration camps.

[10][13] The memoir talks about the uncertainty and vulnerability female reporters faced on site, while also encountering various gendered rules they had to agree upon to keep their positions.