An Evacuee

The year is 1939 and the Wallace family are on holiday in Bognor Regis when war is declared. For each family member this news brings differing expectations, but little does eight-year-old Roger realise that his happy childhood world, shared with three brothers and a sister and his best friend Jimmy Smith, is about to be turned upside down.

Roger, his brother Gerry and sister Margaret are evacuated. He is separated from them and moved from home to home through no fault of his own; often left with totally unsuitable guardians and experiencing the torment of being an ‘outsider’.

At first he copes with this situation because others from his school, including Jimmy, are also evacuated in the area, but when most go back home in 1942 he becomes lonely and resorts to desperate measures to avoid his anticipated fate.

This childhood wartime story is full of real characters such as ‘Old Sam’ and his hilarious escapade in the churchyard with the vicar’s wife, vicar and sexton; and later in the story there is the sad and frightening tale of the ‘Skimmington’ and poor Gertie who had broken the ‘moral code’.

The author was himself evacuated twice and draws considerably on his own experiences, giving this captivating story a truly authentic feel.