More than Writers

Nan and Grandad Rees 1955 Today is the 75 th anniversary of Victory in Europe and I feel incredibly privileged to have today of all days to write my blog post. I’ve always been fascinated by the nation’s stoicism and strength and how we, as a country, pulled together to get through such a dark and terrible time. I have a certain pride that my own grandparents fought and won against that awful dictator but I wish I knew more of their experiences. While they were alive, both Nan and Grandad Rees were evasive about the war and shared only the sketchiest slivers of information and often only by accident. I remember my nan telling me she’d never heard of tripe until during her time as a WAAF. Entering the canteen, she casually asked what was for dinner, and when the chef replied tripe, she said: “I know it’s tripe but what is it!” To this day, her cockney accent and choice vocabulary makes me giggle and I miss her enormously. But the point is, I didn’t even know she was a WAAF...

Children reading  in 1940 There are few books that make me cry, especially within children’s writing and I’m not talking about those picture books that pull heartstrings as you read them aloud to either your own cherubs or a class full of children. Oh, I’ve read plenty of those – you know, the stories that make your voice crack and wobble at the end and the children ask with worried voices whether you’re going to be all right and not to worry, they’re sure the story is not true. It’s just made up. No, I’m not talking about those books, lovely though they are, I’m talking about books for older children. Books set during the world wars. Goodnight Mr. Tom (Kestrel publishing 1981), set during world war two, was one of the first books that reduced me to tears. I must have been about twelve years old and Michelle Magorian’s heart-wrenching descriptions of a boy so badly abused shocked me and taught me that the world is not always a good place. But it was W...