“.....This morning the British Ambassador in Berlin handed the German Government a final note stating that, unless we heard from them by 11 o'clock that they were prepared at once to withdraw their troops from Poland, a state of war would exist between us. I have to tell you now that no such undertaking has been received, and that consequently this country is at war with Germany.”
Third Years have just begun reading “Goodnight Mister Tom” by Michelle Magorian. A touching, emotional novel , it centres on the relationship between young William Beech who is sent away or “evacuated” from London during World War Two to live with widower Tom Oakley.
The book is historical fiction, being based on events in Britain during the Second World War. William comes from a poor family in the East End of London. Like many children in urban British areas at the time, he was sent away for his own safety, as the German air force, the Luftwaffe, were bombing these cities during the war as part of the Battle of Britain.
For an idea of what conditions were like for people living in Britain during the “Blitz”, check out these links below:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/8021316/How-it-felt-to-shelter-from-the-Blitz.html#
Remember too that this era is part of the Junior Cert History course as well, so it’s doubly useful to know. The Republic of Ireland was known as The Irish Free State in those days. We were neutral then, so we didn’t take part on either side during the war. However, on the night of 31 May 1941, German airplanes bombed the North Strand Road area of Dublin city, not very far from our school. The bombs killed 34 people. Three hundred houses were either damaged or destroyed. The German government apologized afterwards saying it was a mistake. But some people thought they did it deliberately to scare our country out of joining the war on Britain’s side. As Northern Ireland was considered part of the United Kingdom along with England, Scotland and Wales, it was bombed often by the Luftwaffe, especially Belfast which had many factories vital for the British war effort. Some people even argue that the Germans bombed Dublin because fire brigades from the city went north to help put out fires caused by the Luftwaffe bombs in Belfast.
When William arrives in the small rural village of Little Weirwold he is shy, timid and lacks self confidence. We find out that he led a very sad life in London. At first he is somewhat afraid of “Mister Tom” who can be blunt and abrupt. But as the novel goes on, their relationship develops...
You can learn about what life was like for these young children evacuated from the cities to the countryside during the Blitz here:
You can read some readers’ reviews of the book here:
Finally, enjoy watching the trailer from the film version of Goodnight Mister Tom:
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