Demobilising troops

These Long Shadows is set between the surrenders of Germany and Japan. The British are technically still at war with the Japanese. However, that war ‘in the Far East’ (as they called the Pacific theatre) is far away from Europe, removed from daily life. The task of demobilising (standing down) many thousands of personnel needed for the war effort was daunting. It hadn’t been done particularly well after WWI, so the government was under pressure not to repeat those mistakes. The British armed forces developed a system to decide the order in which they would stand men and women down which took into account age and length of service. I relied heavily on Alan Allport’s Demobbed: Coming Home after the Second World War for details on the technical aspects of this and Julie Summers Stranger in the House for the social ones. In the end, Jonty received an early medical discharge…after everything I put him through, he deserved it.

Rationing in England after the Second World War

It seems impossible to believe, but food rationing actually got worse for the people of Britain after the war. This was because after the war, Britain had many more mouths to feed and no more loans from the US. In fact, the British had loans to repay. I don’t touch on the food rationing as much as I was planning to in this book (although I managed to work it into The Light Keeper’s Wife.) Fabric and textile rationing and repurposing was important. There are plenty of examples of underwear made from silk RAF escape maps in museums, and garments made from parachute silk in museums today. 

The ‘make do and mend’ philosophy was also very strong, even in Australia. This dress, on display at the Australian War Memorial, shows is of a wedding dress made entirely from lining material.

The Polish Air Force

I have been looking for a way to work the Polish Air Forces into a book and found it in the character of Jan Delovski. The Polish pilots of 303 Squadron were in exile, evacuated from their country when the Germans and Soviets invaded, first to France and then to Britain. They were thought inferior to British pilots and forced into extra training. In fact, they were highly skilled. They were only allowed to fly in the final stretch of the Battle of Britain. They took to the sky with fresh energy, talent and passion. Ultimately, these pilots were a deciding factor in defeating the Luftwaffe in that decisive battle. Sadly, because Poland was under Soviet control after the war (and the Soviet Union was the post-war enemy), these men were not allowed to march in any of the victory celebrations. 

Assisted passage to Australia

After the war, the Australian Government really did offer passage to Australia from England for ten pounds per adult. The idea was part of a mantra that Australia needed to ‘populate or perish’. The scheme stayed in place for decades. These migrants became (affectionately) known as Ten Pound Poms. The idea was floated towards the end of the war, but the first migrants didn’t arrive until 1947, due to disruption and delays.

Have you got any questions about the history in These Long Shadows? I love talking about the history behind the book, so feel free to reach out via the contact page and ask. 

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The Truth Behind Bartondale

I chose the location for the Deroy estate when I was writing Heart in the Clouds and modeled the house of Belton Estate in Grantham. But the story that captured my imagination was that of Hughenden in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, once the country house of Victorian-era politician Benjamin Disraeli. Renamed “Hillside” during the war, the house was used as a place to make maps for RAF Bomber Command. The purpose of the work was so secret that it wasn’t until the 1990s, when a National Trust tour guide overheard a grandfather telling the story of his war work to his grandchildren, that the story became widely known.

While Grace’s home is inspired by Belton House near Grantham, the institution “Bartondale” is inspired by Hillside. I did borrow details from the accounts of people who worked there, including the idea that very few knew the entire story of the work. I also borrowed details from accounts of workers in other photographic intelligence units like RAF Medmenham (including the fact that they had both RAF and US Army personnel)  to create the world within Bartondale’s walls.

The Firestorm in Hamburg

Operation Gomorrah was the official name of the seven days and nights of bombings by Allied forces on the city of Hamburg in July 1943. This was a military victory for the Allies, more or less concluding the ‘Battle of the Ruhr’ that began with the operation over Essen after which Alec crash lands in Heart in the Clouds. As I mentioned in the book, everything went right for the Allies. From the new radar-jamming technology called window (literally aluminum foil strips dumped out the window of the aircraft) to coordinated nighttime bombings by the RAF and daylight bombings by the USAAF.

The results were devastating. Incendiary bombs caused a blaze that needed a new word to describe it: Firestorm. Around 40,000 Germans died, and hundreds and thousands of non-combatants were injured. But the raid crippled the industrial heartland of Germany.

My grandfather was part of this operation and it lived in his memory. I don’t think he thought he could ever be forgiven for his role in it, which was what I wanted to explore with Teddy’s character.

The Savoy Hotel

Ok, I just adore The Savoy, and any time I can get it into a book I will. It was one of Chruchill’s favourite wartime haunts and it really did pull out all the stops to cater to its exclusive clientele. The Savoy’s American Bar is the longest-running cocktail bar in the world. The famous 1930 Savoy Cocktail Book, written by one-time head bartender Harry Craddock is still in print today. Head bartender Eddie Clarke really did invent a cocktail for each branch of the British armed forces during WWII, before joining the navy. I never found the recipes for the RAF cocktail called “Wings” but I reimagined it as the version of the aviation in the Savoy Cocktail Book which doesn’t have the creme de violette. Instead, the bartender drops in an inky food colouring … which may or may not be booze what with rations and all that!

Have you got any questions about the history in The Mapmaker’s Secret? I love talking about the history behind the book! So feel free to reach out via the contact page and ask. 

Winners will be announced at the end of May!

2024 Selah Awards Finalists: First Novel Category

2024 Selah Awards Finalists: Historical Romance Category

Three things I loved

The opening: The first chapter of this book is utterly gripping. The reader is dropped right in the middle of the action right next to Aleida as she tries to escape. We feel the full effect of her husband’s abusive behaviour and experience the shock and grief of discovering she is separated from her beloved son, all in the first gripping 1500 or so words.

This is the kind of scene that seals the deal in the bookshop because you know with a writer like Sarah Sundin if the first scene is this good the rest of the book will be brilliant.

A radio journalist hero: I might be biased here because my husband was a radio journalist when I met and married him! But Hugh is absolutely delightful. I liked the distinctions Sundin made between the deceitful nature of the charm of Aleida’s first husband and that of the charismatic Hugh. I adored the behind-the-scenes details of the BBC during wartime. The regular gatherings of journalists and correspondents at the Heart and Swan pub were some of my favourites.

An unexpected murder mystery: I loved the murder mystery storyline that bubbled away in the background and its gripping conclusion. The mystery and suspense elements were elegantly woven into what is primarily a love story, with plenty of twists and a satisfying climax.

Embers in the London Sky is available at Amazon US and Amazon Australia.

The Bomber Command Memorial at Green Park in London.

RAF Bomber Command

On August 20, 1940 British Prime Minister Winston Churchill gave a famous speech to the House of Commons where he remarked on the bravery of the Royal Air Force and the resilience of the British people. The most famous line from this speech is

“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

Churchill was talking about the fighter pilots who fought off the Luftwaffe during the battle of Britain. Without air superiority, the German army could not launch their planned invasion of Britain. Many people forget the words Churchill spoke next. 

“We must never forget that all the time, night after night, month after month, our bomber squadrons travel far into Germany, find their targets in the darkness by the highest navigational skill, aim their attacks, often under the heaviest fire, often with serious loss, with deliberate careful discrimination, and inflict shattering blows upon the whole of the technical and war-making structure of the Nazi power. On no part of the Royal Air Force does the weight of the war fall more heavily than on the bombers.”

This was the job of Bomber Command. It was relentless, brutal and dangerous. Just under 50% of the men who flew with Bomber Command died. Despite their bravery, their work was downplayed after the war. Once the total cost of the war was counted, the military strategy of area bombing had inflicted devastating numbers of casualties across Europe. 

War is always terrible. In Heart in the Clouds I don’t mean to celebrate their destructive work, vital as it was to defeating the Nazis. I mean to illuminate it. To take the reader inside a Bomber Command station, inside an Avro Lancaster, and inside the head of a pilot grappling with meaning in what he does each night.

RAAF 467 Squadron

Although Alec and his crew are of my own making, their squadron was real. It was formed in November 1942 and disbanded in 1945, so this number represents a very specific time in history. Under Royal Australian Air Force control, the squadron featured airmen from Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth, including New Zealand and Canada.

RAAF pilots with Bomber Command in WWII had to fly thirty operations to complete their flying tour. In Heart in the Clouds, Alec is counting down the operations until he finishes his tour. But, he eventually agrees to do another tour and is selected for Squadron X. History buffs will know that the famous 617 “Dambusters” Squadron was formed so hastily it didn’t have a number and was originally called Squadron X. All of the characters in Heart in the Clouds are imaginary, except for Wing Commander Guy Gibson, whom Alec travels to RAF Scampton to meet.

The Air Transport Auxiliary

Eagle-eyed readers may notice an historical inaccuracy in the form of Birdie Bates, the ATA pilot who gives Maggie the advice to let Alec “reap the whirlwind”. Birdie is one of my favourite creations. In fact, she is the heroine in a story I have out on submission! (Easter Egg: those of you who paid very close attention in Finishing School might realise that Birdie Bates and Grace Deroy were Amy Snee’s debating team-mates at school.)

Although women did fly with the ATA and 11 of those women were licensed to fly Lancasters at the end of the war, they didn’t start flying that aircraft until 1944. However, I just couldn’t resist having Birdie fly onto the scene in one, even though it was 1942. Apologies to the purists.

Have you got any questions about the history in Heart in the Clouds? I love talking about the history behind the book! So feel free to reach out via the contact page and ask. 

Entrnce to the Cowra Breakout Memorial

A few days later Sydney, Brisbane and other cities along the east coast of Australia came under attack by full-sized submarines firing on the cities. Such an attack couldn’t have been more than a scare tactic (especially when the tide of the war was about to turn at the Battle of Midway) but it must have been terrifying for civilians in cities previously untouched by the conflict.

The Brownout Strangler

This month marks eighty years since another terrifying event from World War II, when Melbournians were terrified by a serial strangler roaming the streets. The press dubbed the killer The Brownout Strangler because, unlike many other cities around the world, Melbourne wasn’t subjected to strict blackout regulations. (Lights were dimmed rather than cut out completely, hence a ‘brown out’.)

The Brownout Strangler killed three women in May 1942 in progressively more gruesome attacks. A US GI was eventually arrested for the crimes. Eddie Leonski was apparently motivated by a hatred of his mother. He was tried in Australia by US laws, found guilty and hanged.

The Cowra Breakout

I recently visited the site of the Cowra breakout. Cowra is a country town in New South Wales. Isolated and inland, it was the perfect place for a POW camp.

During WWII, Australia took prisoners of war from around the world as part of its international obligations. At first Italian prisoners were housed in the camp. Generally speaking, the people of Cowra got on well with the Italian prisoners. They worked on local farms and there are many reports of romances with local girls! But the Japanese Imperial Forces had an honour culture that espoused “Death before imprisonment”. One night in August 1944, the Japanese prisoners staged an ugly, messy riot and attempted to breakout. Two Hundred and thirty one Japanese prisoners of war were killed, along with four Australian servicemen, and 108 were wounded. 

This event clearly had an impact on the peaceful country town (who now maintain a strong connection with the Japanese). Read the full story here. The site of the former POW camp is now a contemplative, reflective memorial site that gives further details about the makeup of the population and the events leading up to the breakout. Cowra also maintains a significant Japanese war cemetery, the only one in Australia.

Which of these stories do you think would make a good backdrop for a WWII romance set in Australia? Contact me and let me know what you think!