Nell's War

Sidney Allinson is the editor at the Royal Canadian Military Institute
and author of The Bantams: The Untold Story of World War I.

Probably millions of people witnessed the moment when Wicks got the idea
of producing books about childhood in World War II. In a tv documentary,
he was reminiscing about wartime evacuees, and suddenly found himself in
tears. Soon afterward, he launched his first collection of wartime
memories, No Time To Wave Goodbye. His books have tapped a great well of
sentiment and nostalgia, and have understandably proved to be popular
sellers. They often convey the reality of civilians bearing the brunt of
war better than any number of academic reports could.

His latest, Nell’s War, tells of housewives who endured the savage
Luftwaffe air raids on London’s East End. This time, though, he writes
in a more intensely personal way than before: Nell is the author’s own
mother. As Wicks explains, “I wanted to tell the story of the London
blitz from a unique vantage point—my mum’s, and the people in the
building where she lived.” He has done that well. Using memories of
his own family, and many letters he collected, he touchingly shows how
“ordinary” people are capable of the most extraordinary courage.