''Blitz Kids: True Stories from the Children of Wartime Britain'' is a book by

Duncan Barrett Duncan Barrett is a writer and editor who specialises in biography and memoir. After publishing several books in collaboration with other authors, he published his first solo book, ''Men of Letters'', in 2014. Barrett also works as a journalist ...

and Nuala Calvi, co-authors of ''

The Sugar Girls ''The Sugar Girls: Tales of Hardship, Love and Happiness in Tate & Lyle's East End'' is a work of narrative non-fiction based on interviews with women who worked in Tate & Lyle's East End factories in Silvertown from the mid-1940s onwards. Wr ...

''. It was published in April 2025 as part of the commemorations for the eightieth anniversary of

VE Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

on 8 May that year. The book tells the stories of fifteen individuals who were children during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Researching it, the authors spoke to more than eighty so-called Blitz Kids, before choosing a representative sample of stories. These include Maureen Donovan, who was bombed out of her home in

Bromley by Bow Bromley, commonly known as Bromley-by- Bow, is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London, located on the western banks of the River Lea, in the Lower Lea Valley in East London. It is an inner-city suburb located 4.7 mil ...

, Liverpudlians Christopher Munro, whose father was missing presumed dead in the Merchant Navy, Frances Izzard, who was evacuated to

Haslington Haslington is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies about north-east of the much larger railway town of Crewe and approximately ...

in Cheshire, and Clare McGann, mother of the actors

Paul McGann Paul John McGann ( ; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial '' The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which wa ...

Stephen McGann Stephen Vincent McGann (born 2 February 1963) is an English actor, best known for portraying Physician, Dr Patrick Turner in the BBC One medical period drama series ''Call the Midwife''. He is one of a family of acting brothers, the others bei ...

Mark McGann Mark Anthony McGann (born 12 July 1961) is an English actor. Early life He attended the De La Salle Academy, Liverpool, De La Salle Grammar School, Liverpool. Mark's father Joe was a Royal Naval Commandos, Royal Naval Commando, who landed on ...

and

Joe McGann Joseph McGann (born 24 July 1958) is an English actor. His roles include the lead role of Charlie Burrows, the housekeeper in the TV comedy series '' The Upper Hand'' (1990–1996), '' Night and Day'' and his voice role as Sir Gideon Ofnir in ...

, Irene Brown, who saw the troops departing on

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

Southampton Southampton is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. It is located approximately southwest of London, west of Portsmouth, and southeast of Salisbury. Southampton had a population of 253, ...

, Doreen Cadden, who survived Operation Moonlight Sonata in

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

, Doreen McBride, who helped her father smuggle meat from

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, Brian Ingram, who spent his free time collecting shrapnel near his home in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

, Betty Peachy, who was buried alive during a raid in Filton, on the outskirts of

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, and John Le Page, a

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

evacuee living in

Halifax, West Yorkshire Halifax is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. In the 15th century, the town became an economic hub of the old West Riding of Yorkshire, primarily in woo ...

Reception

The book was rated 8/10 and described as ‘poignant ndpage-turning’ by Matt Nixson in the

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

, and recommended as ‘inspirational’ in the

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

’s ‘S’ magazine.

References

{{Reflist 2025 non-fiction books History books about World War II