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To War With the Walkers
'Uplifting and enlightening . . . Venning has a good eye for what makes the Walker story both unique and universal . . . Thrilling'
MAIL ON SUNDAY
'Superb . . . With its sweeping narrative, readable style, sense of humanity and breadth of research, the saga casts a highly personal light on some of the most significant episodes of [the Second World War]'
DAILY EXPRESS
'A heart-pounding narrative that feels fresh . . . this marvellous book also depicts a world that was soon to vanish'
DAILY MAIL
'A moving book . . . This account of one family's experience takes us to hidden crannies of the war that more official accounts might not bother with . . . Once read, never forgotten'
THE TIMES
'A sensationally good book . . . I see reflections of my own family, and beyond them, like those mirrors tilted slightly into infinity, I can see literally miles of others lined up, inexorably linked forever by a shared experience . . . this is an exceptional book and should be required reading in modern history classes'
JOANNA LUMLEY
'An extraordinary, compelling picture of a family entwined in the Second World War . . . at turns funny, sad, redemptive and tragic. Fabulous'
JAMES HOLLAND
'A loving tribute . . . Brimming with anecdote and rich in fascinating detail'
KEGGIE CAREW
~
How would it feel if all your sons and daughters were caught up in war?
What would it be like to spend six years fearing what a telegram might bring?
That was the heart-wrenching reality faced by so many families throughout the Second World War, including the parents of the Walker children. From the Blitz to the battlefields of Europe and the Far East, this is the remarkable story of four brothers and two sisters who were swept along by the momentous events of the war. Harold was a surgeon in a London hospital alongside his sister Ruth, a nurse, when the bombs began to fall in 1940. Peter was captured in the fall of Singapore. Edward fought the Germans in Italy, and Walter the Japanese in Burma, while in London, glamorous Bee hoped for lasting happiness with an American airman.
In To War With the Walkers, Annabel Venning, Walter's granddaughter, tells the enthralling and moving tales of her relatives, six ordinary young men and women, who each faced an extraordinary struggle for survival.
288 pages, Paperback
First published September 5, 2019
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226 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
September 15, 2019
**4.5 stars **
Written by the granddaughter of Walter Walker, this is the true story of the Walker siblings, (six of them in all), and the situations they found themselves in as they were scattered around the globe during the Second World War, and it’s quite remarkable that given the extreme danger they found themselves in, they all actually survived.
These are very personal accounts, rather than the official ones that we’ve come to expect, and they’re all the more moving for that very reason. We also get a flavour of what life was like for this ‘middle class’ UK family before the outbreak of war, living a leisurely life at home with happy go lucky father Arthur, and strict and formidable mother Dorothea.
Edward the eldest, served in the army before the war, as did brother Walter, and during the war they fought in Italy and Burma respectively. Peter joined the army at the outbreak of war and was captured by the Japanese during the fall of Singapore. Harold served as a doctor, both at sector hospitals, and at St Thomas’s hospital, London, as did youngest sister Ruth, in her role as a trainee Nightingale nurse. These two saw firsthand the suffering created by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz, nursing and operating on air raid victims, burned servicemen and tending traumatised children. They also became victims themselves when bomb damage affecting St Thomas’s meant that medical staff were among the casualties, leaving Harold close to death. The eldest daughter Beatrice (Bee) looked on as the prettiest sister, (though she appears to have been jealous of younger sister Ruth’s looks) went on to marry a wealthy American Airman.
Though all aspects of World War II were devastating, for me the most harrowing and heartbreaking chapters cover son Peter’s internment as a Japanese prisoner of war, demonstrating as it does the brutal reality of war. He, along with thousands of others was put to work on the ‘Death Railway’, a railway line devised by Japan’s Imperial Army at the height of the Second World War to transport troops and supplies from Bangkok to Burma. The brutality meted out to these men, all of whom were suffering from extreme malnutrition, in addition to severe and debilitating illnesses, beggars belief, and Peter’s disabilities, both physical and mental would take a long time after the war to heal, if indeed they ever did. I personally found it impossible to stem the flow of tears on more than one occasion.
Honestly, it makes me feel truly humble and eternally grateful for what the Walker’s, and countless other individuals around the world, who lived through those seismic years, endured and sacrificed so courageously, in order that we could live in a free society, and in addition they appear to have faced these terrible events with great fortitude.
Research carried out by the author into the military strategy, planning and tactics of various battles during World War II must have been extensive, and are included in intricate detail, helping to give clarity and understanding to the why’s and how’s needed to attack and ultimately defeat the opposition in various battles.
If you need a reason to be thankful for the freedom that you have today, then I urge you to read this illuminating book. It’s a wonderful, (albeit brutal at times), first hand account of how one family fought with courage and endurance, and (though not entirely unscathed) lived to tell the tale. Completely and utterly engrossing!
* Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my ARC for which I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *
Written by the granddaughter of Walter Walker, this is the true story of the Walker siblings, (six of them in all), and the situations they found themselves in as they were scattered around the globe during the Second World War, and it’s quite remarkable that given the extreme danger they found themselves in, they all actually survived.
These are very personal accounts, rather than the official ones that we’ve come to expect, and they’re all the more moving for that very reason. We also get a flavour of what life was like for this ‘middle class’ UK family before the outbreak of war, living a leisurely life at home with happy go lucky father Arthur, and strict and formidable mother Dorothea.
Edward the eldest, served in the army before the war, as did brother Walter, and during the war they fought in Italy and Burma respectively. Peter joined the army at the outbreak of war and was captured by the Japanese during the fall of Singapore. Harold served as a doctor, both at sector hospitals, and at St Thomas’s hospital, London, as did youngest sister Ruth, in her role as a trainee Nightingale nurse. These two saw firsthand the suffering created by the Luftwaffe during the Blitz, nursing and operating on air raid victims, burned servicemen and tending traumatised children. They also became victims themselves when bomb damage affecting St Thomas’s meant that medical staff were among the casualties, leaving Harold close to death. The eldest daughter Beatrice (Bee) looked on as the prettiest sister, (though she appears to have been jealous of younger sister Ruth’s looks) went on to marry a wealthy American Airman.
Though all aspects of World War II were devastating, for me the most harrowing and heartbreaking chapters cover son Peter’s internment as a Japanese prisoner of war, demonstrating as it does the brutal reality of war. He, along with thousands of others was put to work on the ‘Death Railway’, a railway line devised by Japan’s Imperial Army at the height of the Second World War to transport troops and supplies from Bangkok to Burma. The brutality meted out to these men, all of whom were suffering from extreme malnutrition, in addition to severe and debilitating illnesses, beggars belief, and Peter’s disabilities, both physical and mental would take a long time after the war to heal, if indeed they ever did. I personally found it impossible to stem the flow of tears on more than one occasion.
Honestly, it makes me feel truly humble and eternally grateful for what the Walker’s, and countless other individuals around the world, who lived through those seismic years, endured and sacrificed so courageously, in order that we could live in a free society, and in addition they appear to have faced these terrible events with great fortitude.
Research carried out by the author into the military strategy, planning and tactics of various battles during World War II must have been extensive, and are included in intricate detail, helping to give clarity and understanding to the why’s and how’s needed to attack and ultimately defeat the opposition in various battles.
If you need a reason to be thankful for the freedom that you have today, then I urge you to read this illuminating book. It’s a wonderful, (albeit brutal at times), first hand account of how one family fought with courage and endurance, and (though not entirely unscathed) lived to tell the tale. Completely and utterly engrossing!
* Thank you to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for my ARC for which I have given an honest unbiased review in exchange *
August 15, 2019
This is a very interesting social history, telling of one family and their experiences in WWII. You are thrown immediately into the action, with a snapshot of all the siblings and their whereabouts, at a particular moment, before the book then goes back to the time before the war and sets the scene.
The Walkers were ‘happy-go-lucky’ father, Arthur, his wife, Dorothea, and their six children. Edward, the eldest, and brother Walter, were both in the army before the war, while Peter was a tea-planter in India and the youngest of the four brothers, Harold, was a medical student. There were also two sisters – Beatrice ‘Bee’ who was a former Norman Hartnell model, and younger sister, Ruth, the youngest of the six, who was a nurse.
As the author points out, there are many books on the aristocracy, during the war, but less on the solid middle-class families, such as the Walkers. They were ‘exiles of Empire,’ who returned from India to live in genteel poverty, in a semi-detached suburban villa. However, the war would, again, split this family around the world – from St Thomas’s Hospital in the Blitz, through India, Burma, Italy and beyond. It is a tale of suffering and struggle, but, amongst the shattering events of wartime, are the more every-day, but no less difficult concerns of marriages (happy and unhappy), separation and upheaval.
A very interesting account of the war, from the viewpoint of a single family. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
The Walkers were ‘happy-go-lucky’ father, Arthur, his wife, Dorothea, and their six children. Edward, the eldest, and brother Walter, were both in the army before the war, while Peter was a tea-planter in India and the youngest of the four brothers, Harold, was a medical student. There were also two sisters – Beatrice ‘Bee’ who was a former Norman Hartnell model, and younger sister, Ruth, the youngest of the six, who was a nurse.
As the author points out, there are many books on the aristocracy, during the war, but less on the solid middle-class families, such as the Walkers. They were ‘exiles of Empire,’ who returned from India to live in genteel poverty, in a semi-detached suburban villa. However, the war would, again, split this family around the world – from St Thomas’s Hospital in the Blitz, through India, Burma, Italy and beyond. It is a tale of suffering and struggle, but, amongst the shattering events of wartime, are the more every-day, but no less difficult concerns of marriages (happy and unhappy), separation and upheaval.
A very interesting account of the war, from the viewpoint of a single family. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.
August 24, 2019
We have heard many stories about the war about not necessarily individual ones. This story is about the Walker family, six siblings and their parents and their journey from the building up to the start of WW2 and getting through it and the time immediately after it. The Walkers consisted of four brothers and two sisters. Harold was a surgeon and sister Ruth was a nurse in a London’s St Thomas’ Hospital in the Blitz in the 1940’s. Edward fought the Germans in Italy and Walter fought the Japanese in Burma and Peter was captured in Singapore. Sister Bee was falling in love with an American Airman.
This is written by the Granddaughter of one of the brothers Walter. It’s a personal view of what went on through the war. The hardships and the atrocities and the struggles that went through not only they went through but for everyone.
The war with the Walkers is I found was a gripping and a unique story of what happened during the war. I have read many books and saw films, but I found the different and more realistic view about the war and learnt many new things that I didn’t know previously. I highly recommend.
This is written by the Granddaughter of one of the brothers Walter. It’s a personal view of what went on through the war. The hardships and the atrocities and the struggles that went through not only they went through but for everyone.
The war with the Walkers is I found was a gripping and a unique story of what happened during the war. I have read many books and saw films, but I found the different and more realistic view about the war and learnt many new things that I didn’t know previously. I highly recommend.
June 10, 2021
Very interesting - true story of an amazing family.
February 22, 2020
The family background was no doubt influential - military leanings, tea planters, upper middle class with assurance and a sense of duty if little wealth. And as it happens, the experiences of the six siblings covered a number of fields of war. Two were buried alive in the Blitz, but made it out for further medical service; one was a US bride, then widow; two were professional military in India, Burma, Malaya; the saddest and most traumatised was Peter, who was captured by the Japanese. suffered and somehow survived the hell of various camps, and never entirely recovered. (It's sobering to reflect that such returning POWs and their families were specifically told not to talk about it.) Indeed, the book is really quite interesting on how post-war lives couldn't always be put back together again. So it's strong on a relatively ordinary family and the opportunities and damage this created; strong too on the little details that make such stories live. Ruth the nurse was finally released from the basement of her bombed hospital to see the air full of tiny points of light - the feathers from the pillows fluttering slowly down, illuminated.
October 26, 2019
This book is absolutely fascinating and if it was fiction you would find it hard to believe!
This is an intensely personal story, written by the granddaughter of Walter Walker. One of six siblings who all served their country during WW2 and survived blitz attacks, the Burma railway, prisoner of war camps and direct military combat in a bid to free The British Empire and its allies from Nazi invasion and Japanese supremacy.
I have read many stories of this era but none so movingly told or with such a personal story of daring, bravery, determination and downright luck. This is one of my favourite reads this year and thoroughly recommend!
This is an intensely personal story, written by the granddaughter of Walter Walker. One of six siblings who all served their country during WW2 and survived blitz attacks, the Burma railway, prisoner of war camps and direct military combat in a bid to free The British Empire and its allies from Nazi invasion and Japanese supremacy.
I have read many stories of this era but none so movingly told or with such a personal story of daring, bravery, determination and downright luck. This is one of my favourite reads this year and thoroughly recommend!
January 20, 2020
Extraordinary story of a real family’s war time experiences. From the blitz in London, the Battle of Britain, and civilian life in the U.K., to battles in Italy and Burma, and most poignantly the fight for survival in POW camps in Thailand and Burma.
This family memoir was a real page turner. I was hooked from page one. Well researched and written it draws you in, introducing the family one by one and telling their stories. Highly recommended.
This family memoir was a real page turner. I was hooked from page one. Well researched and written it draws you in, introducing the family one by one and telling their stories. Highly recommended.
September 3, 2019
A panoramic view of a family at war.
This is the remarkable true story of six siblings, written by one of their granddaughters, who has had access to an extensive personal and public archive.
During World War Two the Walker family were an energetic part of the war effort – two as medics on the home front, the other brothers as serving officers in Italy, India, Burma, Malaya and Thailand.
On the home front and on the battlefield their wide-ranging experience spans victory and defeat, military glory and injury, lives torn apart by the dictates of war, and the horror of being a Japanese Prisoner of War, half-starved and seriously ill, building the bridge over the River Kwai and taking part in the notorious death marches.
This is a history book that sometimes reads like a novel. It is well-researched and knowledgeable, not merely of the historical facts but also of the human toll, both physical and mental, that war exacts and how it changes everything.
The Walker family were tea planters in India who had returned to the UK to live modestly in a suburban semi. Like others, they were the backbone of Empire, and when war was declared, they all rallied to the flag.
At times the narrative gets bogged down by too much detail. It is hard to sustain empathy in the face of so much military minutiae – in providing such an encyclopaedic overview, the author sometimes fails to provide a point of view and sympathy and interest is lost. But where she soars is in her evocative descriptions of the hardships and glamour of colonial life, and the poignancy of young men, barely out of school, pitted against the most ruthless and effective army in history. Her account of Dunkirk and the build-up to it, the Blitz in London and the horror and desolation of the battlefield are excellent – pacey, vivid and engaging.
The scope of this book is so vast from the Japanese POW camps to pioneering plastic surgery on burn and bomb victims, to the surrender of Singapore, to eventual victory in Europe and Asia – there is little in this war not witnessed and lived through by the Walker family.
The author also writes with knowledge and insight into the psychological toll of war and its aftermath. Isolated and alienated, the returning POWs were told not to discuss their experiences. It is hard now to imagine such an utter lack of compassion. Also, the entrenched racism of the colonials is hard to stomach. But it is - unfortunately, an accurate description of the mores of the times and the author should be commended for not flinching from describing it.
This is not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one. This book should be read because, in the microcosm of one extraordinary family, Annabel Venning gives us a real depth of understanding of the world that went before and the war that destroyed it.
Charlotte Gower
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
This is the remarkable true story of six siblings, written by one of their granddaughters, who has had access to an extensive personal and public archive.
During World War Two the Walker family were an energetic part of the war effort – two as medics on the home front, the other brothers as serving officers in Italy, India, Burma, Malaya and Thailand.
On the home front and on the battlefield their wide-ranging experience spans victory and defeat, military glory and injury, lives torn apart by the dictates of war, and the horror of being a Japanese Prisoner of War, half-starved and seriously ill, building the bridge over the River Kwai and taking part in the notorious death marches.
This is a history book that sometimes reads like a novel. It is well-researched and knowledgeable, not merely of the historical facts but also of the human toll, both physical and mental, that war exacts and how it changes everything.
The Walker family were tea planters in India who had returned to the UK to live modestly in a suburban semi. Like others, they were the backbone of Empire, and when war was declared, they all rallied to the flag.
At times the narrative gets bogged down by too much detail. It is hard to sustain empathy in the face of so much military minutiae – in providing such an encyclopaedic overview, the author sometimes fails to provide a point of view and sympathy and interest is lost. But where she soars is in her evocative descriptions of the hardships and glamour of colonial life, and the poignancy of young men, barely out of school, pitted against the most ruthless and effective army in history. Her account of Dunkirk and the build-up to it, the Blitz in London and the horror and desolation of the battlefield are excellent – pacey, vivid and engaging.
The scope of this book is so vast from the Japanese POW camps to pioneering plastic surgery on burn and bomb victims, to the surrender of Singapore, to eventual victory in Europe and Asia – there is little in this war not witnessed and lived through by the Walker family.
The author also writes with knowledge and insight into the psychological toll of war and its aftermath. Isolated and alienated, the returning POWs were told not to discuss their experiences. It is hard now to imagine such an utter lack of compassion. Also, the entrenched racism of the colonials is hard to stomach. But it is - unfortunately, an accurate description of the mores of the times and the author should be commended for not flinching from describing it.
This is not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one. This book should be read because, in the microcosm of one extraordinary family, Annabel Venning gives us a real depth of understanding of the world that went before and the war that destroyed it.
Charlotte Gower
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
September 25, 2019
One family’s war- and what a war it was for the Walker family! This family’s story covers the Home Front and the Blitz, Dunkirk, Italy, El Alamein, Burma, the Japanese POW camps and the Bridge over the River Kwai. Written by a grand daughter, and with some prodigious research, this is the story of the various family members and the theatre of war in which they were involved. With some startling and sometimes horrifying detail, these stories are fascinating for anyone interested in this period. The personal experience really adds to the impact of what took place. Fascinating!
September 9, 2020
This is a book I really wanted to read but I found the writing so clunky, pedestrian and boys own, I have put it down after 100 pages. My interest in the lives of the 'characters' has been killed due to the clichéd writing style and cliff-hanger ending paragraphs.
July 13, 2020
This is the true story of the Walker family. Four brothers and two sisters who all in their differing ways made it through World War 2. From London to Burma, Singapore to Italy and more inbetween they all had remarkable stories. Moving and often horrific this story taught this budding amateur historian so much. I give it 5 stars, my other half might not agree though just for the amount of times he heard me exclaim "LISTEN TO THIS!" It's a thought provoking and evocative account of a time of horror and heroes that will stay with me for a long time.
November 15, 2020
Interesting account of the very different wartime experiences of the members of the author's family. The six Walker siblings were all involved in different aspects of the Second World War from the London Blitz to being a Japanese prisoner of war and their adventures are reconstructed from memoirs, records and interviews. The book gives a fascinating picture of the impact of World War II on the life of members of one family. An absorbing read.
December 24, 2020
Power of Family
Wow what a story thank you for sharing, deeply researched, beautifully written with love. The real meaning of the stiff upper lip and going on, thru thick and thin, surviving unbelievable danger, pain and suffering.
Should be compulsory reading for children reading to understand what our forefathers went through to save our freedoms. So easily taken for granted and given away by the ruling liberal establishment.
Wow what a story thank you for sharing, deeply researched, beautifully written with love. The real meaning of the stiff upper lip and going on, thru thick and thin, surviving unbelievable danger, pain and suffering.
Should be compulsory reading for children reading to understand what our forefathers went through to save our freedoms. So easily taken for granted and given away by the ruling liberal establishment.
November 27, 2020
Excellent Family Biography
I found this book extremely well-written and researched. It was unfortunate that six siblings should all be of an age to serve during World War 2,: Ms Venning has recorded their lives and done them proud. Thoroughly enjoyable.
I found this book extremely well-written and researched. It was unfortunate that six siblings should all be of an age to serve during World War 2,: Ms Venning has recorded their lives and done them proud. Thoroughly enjoyable.
July 24, 2024
An amazing book, documenting the six siblings war experiences, including the often untold story of fighting in the Far East. I had no idea that the Japanese were as brutal if not worse than the Nazis. A fascinating family and war story
April 13, 2020
Very good. The tales of the Walker family span nearly every front of WWII. Highly recommend.
January 11, 2023
This was an eye-opener! Worth a read
April 5, 2023
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It is extremely well researched and written. A truly fascinating account of 6 siblings and their incredible experiences during the Second World War.
November 4, 2023
Powerful read and very well researched. The ups and downs of family life played out across a world war.
February 2, 2025
Very interesting book, I learnt a huge amount about the war
February 1, 2022
An interesting book, following the fortunes of one family (of 6 siblings) makes for a more personal account of WWII.
October 17, 2020
This was a really interesting read! I enjoyed reading all the different experiences the Walker children had during WW2 and it is amazing that all survived considering how many near misses there were. This book wouldn't have been as emotive, in my opinion, had it not been written with the care and attention of one of their relatives which created a great connection with the reader. The style of writing at times felt arduous to me, particularly where context of battles etc. were mentioned but this is obviously a key part of the book. That was the only thing holding it back from 5 stars. Since finishing the book I have thought of the Walkers' experience from time to time and that just shows how well the author brought these relatives to life. You cared for all of them at all times throughout the book. My copy did not include photos but I was pleased to find some online which meant I was able to put a face to the name for each of them.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.
April 7, 2025
I really enjoy history and war books, and this was a very well written one. The intense battles and horrific treatment of prisoners on the Front in Asia is something I hadn't ever learned about and Annabel did an impressive amount of research both into her family and into the events of the battles. I found myself immersed in her writing and each of the stories felt individual and tense in its own way. I did find that some of the battle descriptions and strategizing could drag on for too long at times.
However what grated on me throughout the book was Annabel's sentimental view of her family. They were courageous and strong people who survived the war and went through awful things, but they were also undoubtedly imperialist, classist and most likely racist which Annabel attempts to quite badly re-color in her book. Her bias here really contrasted her otherwise immensely well-researched and accurate descriptions of the events of the war, and made her seem less trustworthy.
However what grated on me throughout the book was Annabel's sentimental view of her family. They were courageous and strong people who survived the war and went through awful things, but they were also undoubtedly imperialist, classist and most likely racist which Annabel attempts to quite badly re-color in her book. Her bias here really contrasted her otherwise immensely well-researched and accurate descriptions of the events of the war, and made her seem less trustworthy.
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews