A Little Boy's War

Book excerpt: In this autobiographical reminiscence of the war years, Roy Bartlett relates the experiences of a young boy living in the West London suburb of Ealing, particularly during the sustained German Luftwaffe Blitz on the capital in 1940 during which he sustained injury. Millions of people in London and other cities, children as well as adults, survived the horrors and rigours of the war. Many accounts have been written, but few from the viewpoint of a child. Aged nine years at the outbreak of war his initial understanding of events was shaped by excitement, evacuation for a short period and what his mother could conjure up to eat from the meagre food rations. As Roy grew older, under ever-worsening conditions, his comprehensions of events broadened. This ensuing account of family life on the home front is a fascinating and absorbing blend of factual information and personal experience of the grim reality of those dark days, yet softened by subtle humour and boyish escapades that bring a smile to the reader. An person who lived through the period of history and the younger generations that follow, will find this narrative to be an informative and valuable historical account of a young lads life throughout that terrible time.