Blitz Families: The Children Who Stayed Behind - Softcover

Starns, Penny

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0752460315 ISBN 13: 9780752460314

Publisher: The History Press, 2012

Synopsis

The mass evacuation of children and new and expectant mothers during the Second World War is well documented. But over fifty per cent of children were not evacuated during the War, and it is these young people who offer an unrivalled view of what life was like during the bombing raids in Britain's cities. In Blitz Families Penny Starns takes a new look at the children whose parents refused to bow to official pressure and kept their beloved children with them throughout the War. As she documents family after family which made this difficult decision, she uncovers tales of the deprivation, criminality and disease of life in the city and, conversely, the surprising relative emotional and physical wellbeing of those who lived through the Blitz compared to their evacuee counterparts. Because of their unique position at the heart of the action, these forgotten children offer us a priceless insight into the true grit and reality of the Blitz.

About this title

Review:

What's it like to be a child in a war-torn city? Penny Starn's moving study of the children who weren't evacuated during the Second World War takes on a special significance in light of the Syrian bombardment of Homs and the Arab Spring. This book gives us plenty of first-hand stories including one eight-year-old's account of a night spent in an air-raid shelter with an unexploded bomb resting overhead. --The Lady Magazine

About the Author:

Penny Starns has researched and taught history at Cambridge, London and Bristol universities, and has written history programmes for BBC Radio 4. Her other books include 'Nurses at War', 'Evacuation of Children during World War II', 'Odette' and 'Surviving Tenko'. She lives in Bristol.

About this edition

• Publisher: The History Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0752460315
• ISBN 13: 9780752460314
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 192