Don't Forget to Write: The True Story of an Evacuee and Her Family

by Pam Hobbs

In June 1940, 10-year-old Pam Hobbs and her sister Iris took the long journey from their council home in Leigh-on-Sea to faraway rural Derbyshire. Living away from Mum and Dad for two long years, Pam was moved between four foster homes. In some she and Iris found a second family, with babies to look after, car rides and picnics, and even a pet pig. But other billets took a more sinister turn, as the adults found it easy to exploit the children in their care. Returning to Essex, things would never be the same again, and the war was far from over. Making do with rations, dodging bombs, and helping with the war effort, Pam and her family struggled to get by. In Don't Forget to Write , with warmth and vivid detail, Pam describes a time that was full of overwhelming hardship and devastation; yet also of kindness and humor, resilience and courage.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, History, World War II, Historical, Book Club, Audiobook

352 pages, Paperback

First published July 2, 2009

Reviews

[Rochelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I heard about Pam Hobbs while listening to NPR and ran to my computer to order a copy of this book! I was right to be excited. Hobbs has an easy writing style that makes you feel as if you are sitting down to a cup of tea with her and hearing her story first hand. And her story is well worth listening to. This book spans the entire story of her family before and after the war and gives a working class view of the war and life in England, although Hobbs was educated beyond the aspirations of her class.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

True story of a young girl and her sister sent en-mass with others from their English village to the safety of the countryside for a few years during WWII. While the author downplays some seemingly harsh events such as the kids being taken to various towns and the villagers coming out to pick the kids they wanted to foster (primarily use/abuse for free labor), other events are vividly detailed such as dealing with catty girls at their new schools, scrimping to make due with war-time rations, and deaths of friends and neighbors due to the war.

[Jenny L · Rating 5 out of 5]

My father and his brother were evacuated during WWII, but he never talks about it, nor indeed about the war. This book is a powerful reminder of what the British people endured throughout six years. Their resilience, courage and bravery, the kindness and humour that was needed to get through it all. Be prepared to shed more than a few tears as you take this journey back in time with Pam Hobbs as she shares what this war meant to her.

[Adasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know i've always read about World War 11 from the perspective of the atrocities committed against the Jewish Nation. This is the first time that i have read about what the citizens of the allied countries went through. It has been very very informative and eye opening reading this book. It gave a genuine insight into the everyday lives of ordinary citizens during the war. I enjoyed learning about the characters in this book. It touched me. A definite must read.

[Lenore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very interesting look at what happened to children in England during WWII. The British government felt children would be safer if evacuated to different areas of the country. This would tear families apart and Hobbs chronicles how this affected she and her sister at that time. Many of the foster homes were very caring, others not so much.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating, firsthand account of growing up in England and experiencing evacuation during World War II. The book doesn't have the flourishes some accounts might have, but the reader does away with an honest, un embellished story, much as if one were reading diaries of a favorite aunt with a razor-sharp memory.

[Wendy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Although I have read quite a bit about WW II and heard a lot from my parents and other relatives, I hadn't read much about England nor thought about how different kids experiences would be when they were evacuated into random homes throughout the country. Eye-opening and enjoyable.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My mother was a child evacuee from Purley during WWII and I found this book fascinating. So much of it reminded me of the stories my mother told, and it gave me a window into what she went through in those years.

[Vickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this perspective of WWII. A true story & an angle I hadn't read about before. We live such pampered lives compared to the people then. I'm not sure that we ( as a people) are capable of the sacrifices that were made during this time.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book made me appreciate what Mum,Dad and grandparents went through during the war!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written and thought provoking.

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful story well written.

I liked all this true story,having grown up in England as young boy,it was full of memories good bad and sad.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a good memoir! Hobbs writes about her experiences as and evacuee during WWII in England.

[Dusty · Rating 5 out of 5]

would read it again. rare glimpse into a cockney family and their struggles and experiences during the war.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars- was an interesting perspective of the war that I was not familiar with. At times it dragged a little bit, though.

[Geraldine · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful read! I was stunned at how little I actually knew about Brits living through the war. This is a real life story to be celebrated and shared.

[Mell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for a heartfelt memoir.
I'm not sure how people endured the awfulness of WWll, particularly Brits and Europeans. Amazing.

[Margie Kelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very easy to read and entertaining story about Pam’s childhood experiences in England during WWII.

[Josie · Rating 4 out of 5]

[Audiobook version]

An interesting personal account of evacuation during World War II. I loved the cheery nature of this -- it's written with the innocence and humour of a child's perspective, and there were some great stories of Pam's time as an evacuee. Although, having said that, two of the stories that most stuck with me were from after she'd returned to Leigh-on-Sea, such as her mother refusing to run when she heard a doodlebug going overhead and instead would move several spaces up in a queue for food while other women ran. (I can just picture my own mother doing the same.) Or the little boy who found a SEVERED HEAD in bomb wreckage and carried it around in his bag charging ha'penny a view. He'd made fourpence ha'penny by the time his mother investigated the stink emanating from his satchel and discovered it. Her screams brought the neighbours running, convinced she'd discovered a Jerry spy hiding under the stairs. It's absolutely horrific to think about -- but at the same time, gallows humour helped get people through the war, and I couldn't help laughing (half in stunned disbelief, if I'm honest. A severed head.).

I was just as baffled as Pam was at her being evacuated to Derby (four hours by train before war started, a day's journey once you had all the changing timetables and stops and petrol rationing, etc) and yet there were children from the midlands who were evacuated to the Essex countryside 18 miles away from Pam's home! It was bizarre. Did the government think sending kids a long way somehow made them safer?? Or was that just the impression they were trying to give the parents?

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very interesting insight into the experiences shared by so many children during the war and of their return home. Being one of a large family compromising of sisters it was also very interesting to hear about their contributions to the war.

This book shows self-sacrifice and good spirit in times of great adversity and should be read by anyone wanting further insight into these times. The book has lots of touching moments but also some humour... I specifically enjoyed the references to Clarabelle the cat.

[Jeannette · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was reading this book I was wondering what the kids of today would do in the same situation. The children of that era (WW2) were raise differently. No cell phones, not even a house phone, no iPads and no computers. I was struck by what it took to do the laundry and every day chores. And how about "queuing" for food and other necessities? How many of us would really not complain?

[Maria Dunlap · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm reading books about Operation Pied Piper and this was a nice memoir to include. Pam's story is one I will not forget.

I'd also recommend A Place to Hang the Moon and the War that Saved My Life, and of course, the Chronicles of Narnia.

[Rebecca J · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great insight into child evacuees from London and their perspective on WWII. Very sweet read.

[Mary Keen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book very much! Even tho' we lived there (5 years plus many visits) long after her childhood memories, many details and vocabulary about everyday life were very familiar.

I first heard about it on a late-night NPR interview with the author, but didn't catch her name or the exact title, so quite a search! A personal connection was the girls staying for some time in Charlbury, not far from where we lived and visited friends there, altho it must have changed a lot.

Like others, i've read a lot about WW2, but this was such a meaningful and personal family story that it made their lives come alive to me. Pam Hobbs had an amazing memory altho she said talking with others helped spark memories she didn't know she still carried.

It was refreshing to learn more about ordinary, low-income people's lives, including both before and after the war rather than the many, many titles about the royals! I have a frame of patriotic war postcards from this era, so many of the sayings were familiar.

So sad how the selection process occurred --similar to how awful it must have been poor, homeless USA city children/ orphans were sent west on trains to be permanently adopted.

I listened to it on Overdrive, but wanted to see photos, so ordered a used paperback hoping it would include them, but no luck. altho glad to read author's notes, etc. Actually, i don't even know if the front and back cover photos were of these 2 girls and then their entire family --will try to research online.

Well-narrated IMO
Audio overdrive @ 1.10 speed

[Jeanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing like hearing a story from someone who lived it - beats all the research in the world. This story of a young girl being evacuated from her home because of the bombing in and near London during WWII gives a true account of what life was like both in & near the city and for those who lived "away" (in the country) where the evacuees were sent. Amazing in clarity and detail. A really wonderful book.

[Corinne Gensler]

An interesting perspective at what young children endured when they were sent away to live with strangers during WWII. Parents thought it was best to risk having foster families raise their kids instead of risk them getting killed by bombs. This book shows some foster families had best intentions, while others treated children as hired help.

[Lisa Alfiero · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this happy accident that I thought was my book club book!

A wonderful chronicle about the tragedy of war and history across the pond. Having a dear friend that was one of the evacuees and having just traveling around England for the first time this summer, the stories were near to my heart.

[Valerie McClatchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit waffly.

[Terry · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.1

[Terry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A charming memoir that not only tells the tale of one young girl's evacuation to the country during WWII, but what life was like once she returned home and the war raged on. Thoroughly enjoyed it.