Items related to Before the Last All Clear
Some recall it as the greatest adventure of their lives. For others, being a wartime evacuee was a nightmare. These are the witty yet deeply poignant memories of a man still haunted by the cruelties he endured. During World War II, around three and a half million British children were evacuated away from possible air raids in the big cities in one of the largest social upheavals Great Britain has ever seen. One of those children was Ray Evans. This is the story of a young evacuee from Liverpool sent to live in the Welsh town of Llanelli. Separated from his mother, brothers and sisters, six-year old Ray was dispatched to a series of families who ignored, exploited and brutalised him. Pushed from pillar to post, he finally finds happiness with a family who make him so welcome that he is reluctant to leave when war ends. Set in a world of ration books, air-raid sirens and ever-present danger, this is a candid and direct account of wartime Britain as seen through the eyes of a child.
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Review:
BOOK REVIEW BEFORE THE LAST ALL CLEAR By Ray Evans
Anyone who has shared a cup of tea or two with English people who lived through the bombing of England and Wales during World War II knows how deeply those terrible events shaped their lives and scarred their memories. In wartime large numbers of children were moved from heavily bombed areas (particularly in places like London and Liverpool) to billet homes in other parts of Great Britain that were deemed safer from the German bombs. Regrettably, the billeting system, both in Great Britain (and in Canada) was often flawed, and those weaknesses were aggravated by the shortages and ravages of war. Before the Last All Clear is the poignant and disturbing memoir of a young evacuee from Liverpool, Ray Evans, who as a young boy was billeted in Wales during the worst of the war years, and suffered there under very difficult circumstances. Of the five homes Ray lived in, three were horrific, and two provided happier memories.
From the Author:
Anyone who has shared a cup of tea or two with English people who lived through the bombing of England and Wales during World War II knows how deeply those terrible events shaped their lives and scarred their memories. In wartime large numbers of children were moved from heavily bombed areas (particularly in places like London and Liverpool) to billet homes in other parts of Great Britain that were deemed safer from the German bombs. Regrettably, the billeting system, both in Great Britain (and in Canada) was often flawed, and those weaknesses were aggravated by the shortages and ravages of war. Before the Last All Clear is the poignant and disturbing memoir of a young evacuee from Liverpool, Ray Evans, who as a young boy was billeted in Wales during the worst of the war years, and suffered there under very difficult circumstances. Of the five homes Ray lived in, three were horrific, and two provided happier memories.
In sometimes painful detail, but with a healthy dose of dark humor, Mr. Evan's memoir gives the reader an unforgettable look at War time Britain and Wales as seen through the eyes of a child. With him we huddle in flimsy shelters as the German bombers thunder overhead. We feel his hunger as his rations are stolen to feed other children in the families with which he is billeted, and he is forced to steal food. How he is locked in a closet for hours for sins he did not commit. How he is twice infected with scabies while living in the billets, and is twice horrendously cured. We share his joy as he earns three pennies on a cider run and goes to the cinema to see Popeye and Gene Autry. We laugh incredulously as we hear how he takes a live German bomb to the local police station and plunks on the counter in front of the terrified constabulary. We hear his crusty grandfather explain why he made teas and toast in the kitchen during a bombing raid instead of hiding in the cellar: "If Adolph f*&#$%g Hitler wants me dead, he'll have to come over the England and shoot me himself!"
All in all, this is a superb portrait of wartime Britain seen from a child's perspective, and recalled in astounding and excruciating detail by a man who lived through it and tells all. Before the Last All Clear is a superb memoir, but more importantly, it is a vivid and uniquely personal morsel of history that any reader will find difficult to forget. -- BookReview.Com - Rod Clark August 13, 2008
During the writing of this book I learned a lot that I had either forgotten or was never aware of because I was so young when the events took place. It was in the course of my researching certain war time events for accuracy and inclusion in the book that I discovered just how much interest there really must be because of the myriad of websites and organizations that exist.
Before The Last All Clear began as a way to ensure the stories that had fascinated my children and now my grandchildren, would continue to be shared within our family. Although I was reluctant at first [I felt I never had the education to write a book and am well aware I am no Shakespeare] however it became a labor of love and grew into so much more than I ever expected it to. Many people tell me the stories are alternately funny, sad and a few some even say are "inspiring". I can only say they have meant much to me and had a very deep and lasting effect on the person I became in later life. I hope you have an opportunity to read the book and that you enjoy it.I have also tried to provide links to websites and resources with more information and where fellow evacuees could possibly track down their evacuee families and friends.
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- PublisherMorgan James Pub
- Publication date2008
- ISBN 10 1600373798
- ISBN 13 9781600373794
- BindingHardcover
- Number of pages263
- Rating
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