Born at Chopping Knife

This is the story of a life of hardship and happiness seen through the eyes of Sylvia, born between two World Wars, into a family still suffering from the aftermath of World War One.  


Set in the beautiful village of Minal in Wiltshire, Sylvia tells us what life was like for a working class family in the lead up to and during World War Two.    The hardships, the rationing, the queues, the evacuees, the American soldiers, the hot summers and the freezing winters.


The hours and hours of playing in the countryside, learning to swim in the river and gathering food from the hedgerows, woods and fields.  The magic of Christmas and the heavy snowfalls.


The sadness of losing much loved friends, relatives and pets.  The tragedy of watching a loved one go through harrowing treatment for breast cancer.  Hopes raised, hopes dashed, the last weeks a nightmare until the inevitable outcome. 


Finally finishing up on an uplifting note in 1954, a humorous, entertaining trip around beautiful Devon and Cornwall with Sylvia, Arthur and their mad dog Rusty, in an old banger of a car.