The Guernsey Girls Go to War
The second of Mary Wood’s Guernsey Girls trilogy, this volume begins partway through 1940 in Stepney, east London, with an insight into Annie Stanley’s home and police life. Recently married to Ricky, they were separated by his posting overseas to play his part in the fight against German forces. With little time to get a place of their own, Annie lives with her sister Janey, disabled mum Vera and other family in an apartment building, when reports are received that Ricky is missing in action.
Meanwhile in Guernsey, Olivia worries constantly, especially as her German husband Hendrick, assigned a position of civil servant in Berlin, has warned her of the island’s impending invasion by Hitler’s army. Olivia and Annie have an established bond from when Annie previously spent time living there. This link has been expanded by the friends’ sharing information with the British security services via their handler Lucy, thereby assisting with informed decision making in government in the fight for peace.
Annie’s sister Janey, already mentally fragile, receives news that her beloved husband sustained a cranial gunshot wound during an accident at training camp. Difficult decisions must be taken to keep everyone safe after his return home when his memory and personality are so dangerously altered.
Heightened bombing of London by Germany plus their invasion of Jersey and Guernsey brings untold chaos and grief, especially for Olivia as she attempts to continue relaying information back to the UK. Violent assaults and sacrifices beyond expectations require sheer determination by each of the characters to get through each day’s devastating changes. This period in history is realistically reflected by Wood’s storytelling, following the main protagonists in their seemingly never-ending plight, reflecting the close-knit East End community spirit, and making for an engaging read.
