Worcestershire | Archive | 2003 | November | 07
From the archive, first published Friday 7th Nov 2003.
A new book by Malvern historian Gill Holt is being launched tomorrow (Saturday).
Malvern Voices: Wartime is the latest in a series which has already covered Childhood and Schools.
At its title suggests, the new volume covers the Second World War and includes a wide range of reminiscences.
Mrs Holt contacted 55 people who were in Malvern between 1939 and 1945 and listened to what they remembered.
"Their memories are in this book, along with a lot of research on my part on evacuees, rationing, civil defence, American hospitals in Malvern, scientists, Italian prisoners of war, servicemen and women, bombs and crashed planes," she said.
The book covers a time when the character of Malvern changed out of all recognition and Mrs Holt opens with a chapter looking back at the town as it was before 1939.
The wartime memories range from Charlie Williams' recollection of an Allied plane crashing near Guarlford, to Theresa Duffy recounting her evacuation from Birmingham to a cottage in Albion Road.
Emilio Ponti recalls coming to Ledbury as a prisoner-of-war; many of the Italians worked in and around Ledbury and Malvern, on farms and in other places.
Leyland Shawe remembers his first day in Malvern as a young physics graduate, directed to work at ADRDE, Pale Manor Farm.
This is just a small sample of the book's contents. There are plenty of illustrations as well.
Mrs Holt is launching the book at Community Action's charity fair at the Forum, Malvern Theatres, tomorrow (Saturday), from 10am to 3pm.
Wartime parlour re-created at Malvern Theatres, see page 32
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