Jamie’s War

JAMIE’S WAR - a story about a little boy who was born just six months before war was declared against Nazi Germany. It is a story about more than little Jamie; it is just as much about the family into which he was born.

Many who read this may well assume that it is autobiographical. Well, much of it is! Unfortunately, there is nobody left alive (apart from me) who can say yea or nay to any individual part of the story. I leave it to the vivid imagination of the reader to determine which parts are actually true and which parts are embellished by an over-active imagination.

Any one of you who reads this and is below the age of sixty will be totally unfamiliar with some of the detail. Monetary values are expressed in pounds, shillings, and pence; distances are expressed in inches, feet, yards and miles; weights are in ounces, pounds, and stones. Sorry - but that is what they were.

Some parts of the story will make hard reading as it is almost as much a story of a dysfunctional family as it is about one little boy. How much of this is true, you may ask? Believe me, some of it most assuredly is.

Every member bar one of the family featured in this story are no longer with us; in some instances, by many years. Only one remains - me. How much of little Jamie remains? I am damned if I know! That is for others to judge.

It is my intention to write a sequel - Jamie’s further adventures in a boarding school that left an indelible impression on his later life. So, should I be granted a few more years, I shall start on it as soon as may be.