About seven years ago, I was doing some research in the archives of the Imperial War Museum in London, and stumbled across an evocative scene recalling the events of Sunday 3rd September 1939. As I peered at the writing on the microfiche copy of the document, I knew this was something special and a gem of inspiration for a story.
It described how expectant mothers gathered at a local school to be evacuated, then walked to the station as war was declared and the air raid sirens wailed across the London roof tops.
The fact that expectant mothers were evacuated, just as children were, has largely been overlooked. This scene, and wanting to tell the story of the forgotten evacuees, simmered away in the back of my mind for years, and after finishing writing the East End Angels series, this was what I knew I wanted to write about. So, expectant mother Marianne, and the other characters grew in my imagination and their story came out in The Mother’s Day Club.
Coming up soon, exclusively for my newsletter subscribers is a special competition to win a signed copy of The Mother’s Day Club and I will also make the winner a pair of handknitted socks, in true 1940s style. There is still time to sign up for my newsletter here and also get a free copy of my ebook of short stories too, if you’d like to enter.