Connie Ross and her twin brother Jessie are just ten when their little house in Bermondsey, south-east London, is shaken. As their father Ted is a docker, moving goods around warehouses, he has seen the government stockpiling for war. 1939 means that life will never be the same again. Along with their aunt Peggy, a teacher who is heavily pregnant, the children are to be evacuated. The docklands will be prime targets for bombing.

THE EVACUEE CHRISTMAS sets the scene with bustling family life in Bermondsey, looking at the women's point of view. Barbara, the twins' mother, is determined to send them away with good warm clothes, and they'll need a suitcase each as they might be separated. School goes on as normal, though the children can't concentrate. Everything is specified by the government, from clothing and eating utensils to marking clothes with names, and the family only has a few days' notice.

Harrogate in Yorkshire is the destination for the woebegone evacuees, and older children are picked first by the locals as they will be more help with farming or housework. Eventually the twins and aunt get a billet with the rector and his wife. The Braithwaites are comparatively well off and even have a telephone. Christmas here won't be anything like home, but as the weeks pass, the Londoners must adapt and make the best of it.

I enjoyed the lively scenes and the many contrasts. The children find apple trees and chickens, unlike the grimy streets of home, but sanitation is basic. Kindnesses abound as the British pull together in the face of oncoming war. Many adults recall the Great War, and realistically know that a lengthy time may pass before peace returns. On the face of it though, they want to keep positive. A typical note is a sing-song. Not all goes well, as must be expected, while the Londoners are taken aback by the depth of the northerly snow. I found plenty for anyone who likes a nostalgic look at Christmas without pretence that everything was better in those days; wrap up well as you'll feel the cold seeping out from the pages.

Katie King, who lives in Kent, has written a good-hearted story of times past, a nice stocking filler which can be read again and again. THE EVACUEE CHRISTMAS will keep you company and tell you details you didn't know, with a well- researched tale of people intent on not making a drama out of a crisis.

Book Summary

A heart-warming story of friendship and family during the first Christmas of World War Two.

Autumn 1939 and London prepares to evacuate its young. In No 5 Jubilee Street, Bermondsey, ten-year-old Connie is determined to show her parents that she’s a brave girl and can look after her twin brother, Jessie. She won’t cry, not while anyone’s watching.

In the crisp Yorkshire Dales, Connie and Jessie are billeted to a rambling vicarage. Kindly but chaotic, Reverend Braithwaite is determined to keep his London charges on the straight and narrow, but the twins soon find adventures of their own. As autumn turns to winter, Connie’s dearest wish is that war will end and they will be home for Christmas. But this Christmas Eve there will be an unexpected arrival…