What happened to the Forgotten Evacuees?

What happened to  all the Guernsey children banished from their island home during World War Two? This is the question historian Gillian Mawson  answers in her new book Guernsey Evacuees: The Forgotten Evacuees of the Second World War,  published on November 1 by the History Press. My own father was evacuated to Oldham, Lancashire, in 1940, and, as part of The Next Big Thing  Wednesday blog, I've invited Gillian to tell us how the book came to be.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

In 2008, I discovered that around 17,000 Channel Islanders had fled the islands to mainland Britain in June 1940, just before the Nazis occupied their islands. Some did not return to Guernsey after the war but remained in the communities in which they had settled. I had to find out more about this! I began to search for surviving evacuees, and this practically took over my life. I have interviewed over 200 so far and organised several evacuee reunions. I have also formed a community group for those who live in northern England, and we share their wartime stories at public events in an interactive way.

What genre does your book fall under?

British social history – the history of Britain's World War Two Home Front

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a film?

Eleanor Roosevelt: Meryl Streep

Guernsey Headmasters: David Morrissey and Benedict Cumberbatch

Teachers: John Simm, Julie Walters, Victoria Wood

Mothers: Emily Blunt, Joanne Froggatt,

Mr Fletcher: John Savident

It would be wonderful to have some of the children from the actual evacuees' families as the children in the story.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

An unforgettable and untold true story of Second World War British evacuation

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

It is being published by the History Press – a specialist history publisher.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

7 months working 9 til 5 Monday to Friday

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

'Churchill's Children' by John Welshman, 'When the Children Came Home' by Julie Summers

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

Meeting the evacuees and realising that in the majority of cases, their amazing and emotional stories had not been shared with the general public. I was also given access to teachers', children's and adult evacuees' diaries which paint a vivid picture of their experiences in England during the war.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

I use the evacuees' own words throughout the book, in order to bring it to life for the reader. I discuss the young mothers who left the island with their infants, leaving their husbands behind. Guernsey schools were evacuated to England and some teaches re-established their schools in England for the duration of the war.

 They received assistance from the British public, but also from Canada and the USA. One Guernsey school was financially supported by wealthy Americans, with one little girl exchanging letters with 'Aunty Eleanor' - Mrs Eleanor Roosevelt, the American President's wife. For a detailed look at the chapters, see: http://guernseyevacuees.wordpress.com/my-new-book/

Thanks, Gillian, and finally please keep an eye out for the blogs of writer Peter Kenny who, along with Richard Fleming, is the author of The Guernsey Double, a book of delightfully original poems about the island.

What is The Next Big Thing?

If you'd like to discover what books you could soon be reading, why not join in The Next Big Thing -  where writers and bloggers discuss their  work-in-progress? Today it's  my turn:

What is the working title of your book?

Sophie’s Secret

Where did the idea come from for the book?

A relative of mine discovered recently that his father was an American GI.    I wanted to show how the birth of an illegitimate  child  impacts on the lives of the generations that follow.

What genre does your book fall under?

Historical fiction 

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a film?

I’d prefer to wait till I’m asked! However, a modern-day Ingrid Bergman would be my ideal protagonist.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

You can change the future - but what if you try to change the past?

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

I hope it to have it represented by an agency.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

It will have taken about a year by the time it’s finished.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Novels by Dilly Court and Colette Caddle

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

My inspiration to write has always come from my father, the late Harry Brown, who lost his beloved brother as an evacuee at the outbreak of World War Two, but never lost his sense of humour.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It’s a love story   spanning two generations,  from the horror of the Coventry blitz  to the emerging 'freedom' of the sixties.

Of the many writers I admire, two will soon be joining me in  The Next Big Thing. They are Gillian Mawson, whose book 'Guernsey Evacuees The Forgotten Story,' out on November 1 (The History Press) is very close to my heart and Linda Mitchelmore whose first historical romance 'To Turn Full Circle ' (Choc Lit) is currently enjoying excellent reviews.  She will be  discussing  her latest work-in-progress 'No Turning Back,' the second book of her  trilogy, this time next week. Look out for more recommendations soon.

Finally - thanks to Jack Barrow http://jackbarrow.blogspot.co.uk/ for his recommendation.

Want to say No? Yes please!

 I once got a  call from a friend begging me to go to a dinner party. 'If you don't come, she said, 'we'll run out of  conversation.'  I said yes, of course. Because those of us who  talk too much  are also the sort who never say 'no.'

All my life I've had too much to do and too many places to go because the little 'n' word has never been part of my vocabulary.  I don't mean to get involved, you, see, I just start chatting and it sort of happens.

'Dobby's mother not very good at sewing,' my  then 11-year-old daughter said mournfully as I painstakingly embroidered her  full name on the front of her new tennis kit.

'Don't worry,'  I said, taking pity on Dobby's mum. 'Just tell her I'll do hers, too.'
The following day the  kit duly appeared. 'What Dobby's surname? I inquired innocently.
 My daughter  passed me a piece of paper. The words 'Dobroslawa Przybyszewki'  were written in neat capitals. 'That's her name,' she replied. 'We call her Dobby for short.'

Then there was the time I agreed to collect  charity envelopes from one of the roads in our village. 'It's only 30 houses,' the organiser cajoled. 'You can do it in less than an hour.'

Two hours, three downpours,   four slammed doors  and several insults later, how I wished I'd just refused.

Now I've said 'Yes' again - this time to joining in a Sponsored Silence.
 'You - stop speaking?'  my other half burst out laughing when I told him.  'Now that I'd like to see!'

He's still here as I write,  shaking his head in disbelief.

Meanwhile, HUSH, Britain's only E.coli support group is busy planning  SHUSH for HUSH  next month . Along with mother-in-laws all over the country I will keep quiet for  as long as possible to help them raise desperately needed funds.

 Take a look at my page on www.virginmoneygiving.com/MarilynChapman

I promise I won't say a word...

Want to borrow a book? Take a pew!

With thanks to the Reader's Nook

How would you feel about going to church to borrow a library book?

The idea came to me when I saw this wonderful photo of a disused church in the Netherlands, built in 1294 and converted into a library in 2007.   I'm not suggesting we convert our churches, of course,  just make use of them on the days they are empty.

All over Great Britain we have beautiful old churches of all denominations with dwindling congregations and dwindling revenue to match. Meanwhile, local authorities are struggling to keep open our local libraries, many of which are often the central point of the community. Churches need funding and libraries need a place to go - so why couldn't the two work together to their mutual benefit? Before anyone suggests I'm being sacrilegious, I assure you I am not. Quite the opposite in fact.  Isn't it time more people got to see the inside of some of our country's historic buildings before they are closed forever?  Isn't there a correlation between great architecture and great literature?

The idea would work particularly well in rural areas where community services are constantly being pruned or stopped altogether.  An area of the church could be dedicated to books at certain times of the week with the provision, maybe, of coffee and a warm place to chat.  Methodist churches regularly invite the congregation to coffee and cakes after  the morning service - so perhaps it's a short step to include books too?

The once-popular Borders book chain  went into administration in 2009, partly due to competition from the internet. Today the sales of e-books are, in some cases, overtaking their paper counterparts. I am all for progress and regularly use my kindle, but the truth is that we will always have a place for 'real' books, even if only as a  reminder of our glorious heritage.

Room at the Top? In Praise of High Fliers...

The Red Arrows, Guernsey, September 2012

John Braine's unforgettable 1957 novel comes to life again on BBC 4 tonight, the same day as Casual Vacancy,  J K Rowling' s first  novel  for adults, hits the shelves.  There appear to be interesting parallels.  Both highlight the vagaries  of the  the good old British class system which, along  with sex politics and money, has spawned tales of greed and ambition  since Shakespeare picked up the quill.

Why should a 55-year-old novel have its place on our screens when the world is awash with aspiring young novelists?  Because, in my view, Room at the Top is  a history book for the next generation and should be compulsory reading for anyone over sixteen.

John Braine's protagonist, Joe Lampton, is a working class Yorkshire  lad with eyes on the boss's daughter and a chip bigger than the whole of Harry Ramsdens  on his shoulder. By no means the original 'angry young man,' Joe nevertheless spoke for a whole host of men in post-war Britain who wanted to better themselves.  Ultimately, however, he 'sold his soul' to achieve his ambition.

J. K. Rowling describes her book as a comic tragedy and it is indeed  tragic that  modern society has made little progress with its 'them and us' view of the world. I look forward to reading  Casual Vacancy, heralded as an everyday story of the rich versus the poor.  In the meantime, I'm on the side of the world's would-be high fliers even if, like Joe, all they do is make us sit up and take notice.

 Ambition may have its downsides but I'd swap it for bigotry every time.

The opening chapter - Weather or Not?

Notice in a Guernsey open air cafe - September 2012

Did you know that a large percentage of would-be novelists start their  first chapter with a description of the weather? This, we are told, is not a good idea.  Yet great novelists have, throughout time, begun their novels in just this way and their names have gone down in history. Take Thomas Hardy in the opening chapter of Far from the Madding Crowd:

Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.

 I've cheated a little with this example because it's  on of my favourites, yet Hardy often
referred to the weather in his opening chapters. And so did Dickens. Foggy marshes, damp and dreariness in the cemetery, all of these make Dickens Great Expectations addictive from the beginning and provide us with a fear that is almost tangible. Who could not be moved by  the evil convict Magwitch or the terror enveloping young Pip?

 Look at the opening chapter of Bronte's Jane Eyre: There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further out-door exercise was now out of the question.

In Ernest Hemingway's 'A Farewell to Arms,' rain  represents death while snow is symbolic of hope. His wonderful 'The Sun also Rises,'  apart from being one of his best novels, refers to - er - the weather. Hemingway was a journalist before he became a novelist so at least I'm in good company!

The truth is that all rules are made to be broken. Success makes anything possible. But for the rest of us, writing is something we do from the heart and shouldn't be restricted by endless rules.  In our genre-obsessed literary world it's hard to write anything these days that doesn't fit into a specific category.

My message to would-be novelists who want to write about the weather is, therefore, simple. Write what you feel, 'weather' or not, and don't listen to too much advice. As Ernest Hemingway once said: The first draft of anything is shit.  Not exactly how I would have put it but, well, I certainly know what he means.

Farmer Oak smiled, the corners of his mouth spread till they were within an unimportant distance of his ears, his eyes were reduced to chinks, and .diverging wrinkles appeared round them, extending upon his countenance like the rays in a rudimentary sketch of the rising sun.

The actress and the priest...

Louis de Bernieres at the Guernsey Literary Festival

I arrived at the Guernsey Literary Festival this week just in time to see novelist Louis de Bernieres make an entrance - and I'm so glad I did. Despite being born in Britain, this surprisingly affable author has an exotic-sounding name that sits comfortably with his collection of works set all over the world. Grateful as he may be to Captain Corelli's Mandolin for catapulting him to fame (not to mention wealth) I can't help wondering if he finds discussing the novel after so many years  just a tiny bit tedious.

He began his talk with a never-before-heard short story about an actress and a priest, that had us all rolling with laughter. 'This is funny and a bit silly but I've only just written it and you are the first to hear it so  you can make up your minds,' he said.  Based  in Norfolk, where the author now lives, it follows the mixed fortunes of Roman Catholic priest Papa De Lyon, (my spelling) , known locally as 'Paper Lion' and a long retired eccentric actress who wants to convert to Catholicism on her own rather bizarre terms.  Louis de Bernieres is, of course, famous for his prurient sense of humour and on this he didn't disappoint.

An adult author, his one children's book Red Dog, written in 2002 and set in Western Australia, was presumed to be for adults and therefore treated as such, much to his amusement.  It was made into an Australian film  two years ago.  Fans of his novels know they are written as stand-alone chapters that subtly connect  to make a whole. Deceptively easy to read  they are clearly far more complicated to write and include The War of Don Emmanuel's Nether Parts, Birds Without Wings, Senor Viva and the Coco Lord and The Troublesome Offspring of Cardinal Guzman. I am currently reading A Partisan's Daughter (a paper version, signed by the author, of course) a wonderful mixture of sadness, perception and joy which was shortlisted for the  Costa Novel Award in 2008.

After the talk I asked Louis de Bernieres if he thought that the future lay in digital publishing.  He smiled, raised a copy of one of his novels and said 'Whatever happens we will always have these.'

I do hope he's right.

Harry Brown at the Cafe de Paris...

I've recently rediscovered a vintage cartoon from the heyday of  London's most famous venue, The  Cafe de Paris, whose roll call of past guests comes straight from the pages of Who's Who. Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly, Noel Coward,The Agha Khan, Princess Margaret, the Prince of Wales, Lord and Lady Mountbatten all once graced the venue in London's Piccadilly along with, oh yes, Harry Brown. No, sorry, he wasn't rich and famous - he was just my dad.

In the 1950's Dad, a journalist, was invited to cover a prestigious sportsmen's dinner at the Cafe de Paris along with a well-known cartoonist from one of the tabloid nationals.The cartoonist did this wonderful doodle of Harry in his monkey suit as a memento of the occasion and it took pride of place in my childhood home for  many years.

Established in 1924, the Cafe de Paris was renown for staying open during World War Two when most other similar venues were shut down.  The wartime maitre d', Martin Poulson, was famously quoted as saying it would never get bombed having 'four solid storeys of masonry above.'  Yet on March 8 1941 two 50kg landmines came through the Rialto roof and 80 people were killed - including the hapless maitre d' himself. After the war around £7,500 was spent on refurbishing the blitz damage.

Incidentally, the Mountbattens were known for their choice of menu when they arrived in Piccadilly: a dozen and a half oysters and Steak Diane.... Makes a change from Mcdonalds...

Drugs for all...

                                                     


Here is something  I think should be posted in every doctor's surgery all over the country, in schools, hospitals, pubs and clubs and anywhere people are searching for something to help them escape from the pressure of their lives...It reminds me of a very old lady who was  featured on television a few years ago during National Book Week. She was sitting in a wheelchair surrounded by novels of all shapes, sizes and genres - with a huge beam spread across her face.  'I might not be able to walk,' she said, 'but I can travel all over the world, swim, ski, ride on the back of a camel and stay up till dawn just by flicking through the pages of a book.' And, of course, she was right.


Maybe we should be able to get them on the NHS?