Book description
From the dangers of London streets during the Blitz to working on
the high seas in the Merchant Navy during the Atlantic Convoy,
children were on the frontline of battle during the Second World War.
In Sean Longden's gripping retelling of the conflict, he explores how
the war impacted upon a whole generation who lost their innocence at
home and abroad, on the battlefield and the home front.
Through extensive interviews and research, Longden uncovers
previously untold stories of heroism and courage: the eleven year old
boy who was sunk on the SS Benares and left in frozen water for
two days; the teenage Girl Guide awarded the George Medal for bravery;
the merchant seaman sunk three times by the age of seventeen; the
fourteen year old who signed up for the army three times before
finally seeing action in the Normandy campaign; the fourteen year old
'Boy Buglers' of the Royal Marines on active service onboard
battleships; as well as the harrowing experiences of the boy who was
survived the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster; the horrors of being a child
captive in the German PoW camps.
Blitz Kids will change forever the way one sees the relationship
between the Second World War and the generation - our grandparents and
great grandparents- who bravely faced the challenge of Nazism.
Allowing them to tell their stories in their own words, Sean Longden
brings both the horrors and the humour of young lives lived in
troubled times.
The book includes stories of:
The seventeen year old boy who signed up 4 times before he made it
onto the beaches at Normandy.
The Girl Guide who saved a family during the blitz.
The teenage merchant seaman who was sunk three times.
What it was like to be a teenage POW after the disasters of Dunkirk.
Praise for Sean Longden
"A rising name in military history ... able to uncover the
missing stories of the Second World War."
The Guardian
'A tenacious sleuth of Second World War secrets.'
Andrew Roberts.
'At times you have to stop and remind yourself that you're reading
history and not an 007 thriller."
The Soldier.
'First class history from a first class historian'
Military Illustrated.
'Fascinating'.
Financial Times.
