Review: “While The Bombs Fell” by Robbie Cheadle and Elsie Hancy Eaton

What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2?
Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often they come and the air raid siren sounds signalling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden.
Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia.
Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes

My Review

I’m so pleased I finally got round to read this short but hugely informative book. It is a mixture of diary style writing and explanations directed at the reader directed.
We follow Elsie through her war torn life and what has become normal for her and her family in rural England during WWII: Planes, blackouts and everyhting that happens in an besieged country.

Rationing and other restrictions on their daily lives are all described in detail and give us a very clear idea of how a childhood would have played out in such circumstances.
As historical fiction writer I value this tradition of oral history on more than one level but this is fascinating and insightful and a great read for anyone.

VBeing told from a child’s prespective and adapted by the authors this really is touching and emotional.

Definitely recommended.

Biography

Robbie, short for Roberta, is an author with six published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with her son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about her mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with her mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of Robbie’s children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.

Robbie has recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential her children’s books from her adult writing, these will be published under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. Robbie has two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.

Robbie has also recently published a poetry collection, Open a new door, together with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

 

 

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