Author Description

Why would British parents risk sending their children to safety over submarine-infested waters? How would American and Canadian families and public respond to them? What adventures would the children experience and what would be the long-term effect on their lives and on attitudes on both sides of the Atlantic? This book sheds light on an aspect of World War II that is little known on either side of the Atlantic. It is a tale that is at times moving, often humorous, evoking an authentic picture of life and attitudes sixty years ago. It is a saga of separation, a story of unashamed patriotism, and an important and very readable contribution to the literature of World War II. Innumerable volumes have been written about the transatlantic relationship, but here is a book that goes to its heart, the unbreakable emotional bonds that stretch across a vast ocean. Neither sentimental nor mawkish, Michael Henderson has captured the essence of this enduring, moving, wartime saga. Raymond Seitz, US Ambassador to Britain 1991-1994. Those of my generation, born towards the end of the war, are often haunted by the thought of what might have happened had we been just a little older. Michael Henderson tells us in a fascinating narrative, filled with adventure, drama and sadness of children taken from their parents to a foreign land for their own safety. One of the things I liked most about this book is the light it casts on some of the nooks and crannies of war-time North American life. Sir Christopher Meyer, UK Ambassador to the US 1997-2003