Home Front Heroes

Three excellent world war two stories, each taking an original slant on aspects of the home front. The first two are by Blake. ‘Sid’s War’ deals with Evacuees; young Sid being separated initially from his older sister, Rita, and billeted with the most reluctant of ladies, Mrs Abbott, but ultimately being reunited with Rita. In ‘The Sandbag Secret’ the blitz, spies and black marketeering are explored. Billy wrongly suspects his Uncle Sandy, nicknamed Uncle Sandbag, of being a spy, but he does not turn out to be totally unblemished.

In McKinlay’s story, ‘The Prisoner’, the treatment of prisoners of war, in this case a captured Italian soldier, and their interaction with English civilians, is dealt with very empathetically indeed. Following each story are a few pages of historical and social background information. All three stories have good characterisation and plot to keep the reader absorbed. Three different illustrators do an excellent job of sprinkling each story liberally with engaging sketches.