Young Voices: British Children Remember The Second World War

by Lyn Smith, Imperial War Museum

Covering a vast area, from the home front to Nazi Europe and Japan, Lyn Smith has compiled a richly diverse and moving collection of testimonies, which reveals the sheer complexity and horror of the Second World War.

Genres: History

464 pages, Paperback

First published October 30, 2007

Reviews

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in association with the Imperial War Museum, Lyn Smith undertook the mammoth task of ploughing through the written and oral archives contained therein. She uses excerpts from a variety of children,some living in the UK and some stranded in enemy territories. The most harrowing are the accounts from children rescued from the SS City of Benares which was torpedoed and sunk whilst carrying evacuees across the Atlantic, supposedly to safety.
This is history writing at its best, informative and compelling. Highly recommended!

[Sandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m reading a lot about the Second World War and have just finished a fascinating book called ‘Young Voices’ by Lyn Smith produced with the Imperial War Museum. It is an account of children’s experiences during the war. I’m particularly interested in children who lived through Occupation and there are children quoted throughout who grew up Guernsey. One woman tells how it became compulsory at school to learn the German language. One day the German kommandant arrived to present a prize, which she as top of the class in German, was to receive. He asked her a simple question in German, ‘how old are you?’ Her brain froze and she couldn’t answer, terrified she was going to be shot. Someone whispered the question again in English, and the girl was able to answer correctly. The prize? A book in German which she was unable to read.
Read more about my thoughts on books and writing at www.sandradanby.com

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book contains extracts of people's recollections of their experiences in wartime Britain, and is fascinating.