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When The Robin Whistles
Captured one day after his twenty-second birthday at St Valery-en-Caux, June 12th 1940, Guy Fenton’s war seemed over almost before it had begun. Yet what followed would become a remarkable story of endurance, courage, friendship and love.
Marched hundreds of miles across war-torn Europe, enduring years of captivity in German prisoner-of-war camps, Guy witnessed both the very worst and the very best of humanity. Through hunger, exhaustion, brutal winters and the constant uncertainty of survival, he clung to hope, sustained by the friendships forged in captivity and an unwavering determination to one day return home.
Then, amidst the darkness of occupied Poland, he met Jozefa.
What began as a chance encounter grew into a love that defied war, borders and the ever-present danger surrounding them both. As the Third Reich collapsed and Europe descended into chaos, Guy and Jozefa faced one final and perilous journey towards freedom.
Based on true events, this is an unforgettable story of resilience, sacrifice and a love powerful enough to survive the devastation of war. A testament to the generation who endured the unimaginable, and to the human spirit that refused to surrender.
Marched hundreds of miles across war-torn Europe, enduring years of captivity in German prisoner-of-war camps, Guy witnessed both the very worst and the very best of humanity. Through hunger, exhaustion, brutal winters and the constant uncertainty of survival, he clung to hope, sustained by the friendships forged in captivity and an unwavering determination to one day return home.
Then, amidst the darkness of occupied Poland, he met Jozefa.
What began as a chance encounter grew into a love that defied war, borders and the ever-present danger surrounding them both. As the Third Reich collapsed and Europe descended into chaos, Guy and Jozefa faced one final and perilous journey towards freedom.
Based on true events, this is an unforgettable story of resilience, sacrifice and a love powerful enough to survive the devastation of war. A testament to the generation who endured the unimaginable, and to the human spirit that refused to surrender.
378 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 31, 2026
About the author
Stephen Griffiths
1 book1 followerStephen Griffiths is the author of When the Robin Whistles.
He had always known that his grandparents had a remarkable story. As a child, he spent much of his summer holidays with them in King’s Lynn and Hunstanton, and over the years fragments of their wartime experiences were shared. There were stories of his grandfather’s years as a prisoner of war, of Poland and of the extraordinary circumstances in which his grandparents had met, but much of what they had endured, particularly during the darker years of the war, remained largely unspoken.
In the 1990s, his grandparents finally began to write their memories down, eventually giving a copy of their notes to each of their four grandchildren.
Many years later, one of Stephen’s own children asked to see them. It was only then, while searching through the papers, that he realised parts of his copy had been lost. He turned to his three sisters, only to discover that none of them possessed a complete version either. Thankfully, when the four grandchildren brought their surviving pages together, everything was still there. Their grandparents’ story had survived.
That discovery became the inspiration for When the Robin Whistles.
Originally intended only for his family, Stephen began piecing together the journey his grandfather, Guy, had made from Tattersett, a small Norfolk village, to Warlubie in occupied Poland. What began as an attempt to preserve a collection of family memories soon developed into something far larger as he followed Guy from his departure for France in January 1940, through the fighting and retreat that ended with his capture at St Valery-en-Caux, and into the long years of captivity that followed.
As his research continued, Stephen was able to place his grandparents’ personal recollections within the wider events unfolding around them. Family documents, photographs, wartime records and the surviving accounts of those who had shared some of Guy’s experiences gradually helped to fill the spaces between their notes and bring their world back to life.
In doing so, Stephen found himself on an unexpected journey into his own family history and Polish heritage. Through his grandfather’s memories, he came to understand more fully the courage and generosity of the ordinary Polish people who helped him during his captivity and, later, during his desperate journey through Poland as the war drew towards its end.
When the Robin Whistles is Stephen’s first book. He lives in Scotland with his family.
He had always known that his grandparents had a remarkable story. As a child, he spent much of his summer holidays with them in King’s Lynn and Hunstanton, and over the years fragments of their wartime experiences were shared. There were stories of his grandfather’s years as a prisoner of war, of Poland and of the extraordinary circumstances in which his grandparents had met, but much of what they had endured, particularly during the darker years of the war, remained largely unspoken.
In the 1990s, his grandparents finally began to write their memories down, eventually giving a copy of their notes to each of their four grandchildren.
Many years later, one of Stephen’s own children asked to see them. It was only then, while searching through the papers, that he realised parts of his copy had been lost. He turned to his three sisters, only to discover that none of them possessed a complete version either. Thankfully, when the four grandchildren brought their surviving pages together, everything was still there. Their grandparents’ story had survived.
That discovery became the inspiration for When the Robin Whistles.
Originally intended only for his family, Stephen began piecing together the journey his grandfather, Guy, had made from Tattersett, a small Norfolk village, to Warlubie in occupied Poland. What began as an attempt to preserve a collection of family memories soon developed into something far larger as he followed Guy from his departure for France in January 1940, through the fighting and retreat that ended with his capture at St Valery-en-Caux, and into the long years of captivity that followed.
As his research continued, Stephen was able to place his grandparents’ personal recollections within the wider events unfolding around them. Family documents, photographs, wartime records and the surviving accounts of those who had shared some of Guy’s experiences gradually helped to fill the spaces between their notes and bring their world back to life.
In doing so, Stephen found himself on an unexpected journey into his own family history and Polish heritage. Through his grandfather’s memories, he came to understand more fully the courage and generosity of the ordinary Polish people who helped him during his captivity and, later, during his desperate journey through Poland as the war drew towards its end.
When the Robin Whistles is Stephen’s first book. He lives in Scotland with his family.
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