Description
Object description
Illustrated memoir (550pp ts, including appendices) of his harrowing experiences as a schoolboy born in France during the Second World War, with details of his family background as the son of an English racehorse trainer living in the Paris area, the outbreak of war, the family's evacuation to St Jean Pied de Port following the German invasion in May 1940, his father's arrest and internment in camps at Laharie and St Denis and that of his mother and sister who were interned at Senlis and Besancon (they were subsequently released and repatriated), daily life in occupied France and prejudice against him on account of his parentage, the billeting of German troops on his father's estate, his attempts to support himself and to avoid conscription, air raids, particularly on the caves at St Leu d'Esserent where V-weapons were assembled and stored, conditions during and after liberation by US forces, the actions of former members of the Resistance after they assumed power in post-liberation France, and the difficulties of adjusting to life in England during the final months of the war; also photocopies of official and personal documents relating to his family's internment and other subjects treated in the memoir.
Content description
Illustrated memoir (550pp ts, including appendices) of his harrowing experiences as a schoolboy born in France during the Second World War, with details of his family background as the son of an English racehorse trainer living in the Paris area, the outbreak of war, the family's evacuation to St Jean Pied de Port following the German invasion in May 1940, his father's arrest and internment in camps at Laharie and St Denis and that of his mother and sister who were interned at Senlis and Besancon (they were subsequently released and repatriated), daily life in occupied France and prejudice against him on account of his parentage, the billeting of German troops on his father's estate, his attempts to support himself and to avoid conscription, air raids, particularly on the caves at St Leu d'Esserent where V-weapons were assembled and stored, conditions during and after liberation by US forces, the actions of former members of the Resistance after they assumed power in post-liberation France, and the difficulties of adjusting to life in England during the final months of the war; also photocopies of official and personal documents relating to his family's internment and other subjects treated in the memoir.
History note
Cataloguer AC
History note
Catalogue date 2003-11