Operation Doodlebug
The year is 1944. Stan is saying goodbye to his baker father, who is in a reserved occupation but has chosen to fight. Stan and his father are close, and Stan’s father promises to return. Billy is Stan’s best friend. He has dwarfism but nothing stops Billy. Stan and Billy have a friend, Nellie, who is eight and struggles with school. The children are initially all at home with their families in Croydon, just south of London, but then a collective decision is made by the parents to send them all to be evacuated to Gorlemouth, a fictional Norfolk coastal town.
Before they leave, Billy and Stan find a Prisoner of War letter carrier in the remains of a bomb site. The instructions say to hand the canister in to the nearest police station and not to send the letters on, for fear of giving vital information to the Germans. Stanley thinks one of the letters in the canister is from a young soldier in his dad’s unit. Illicitly he makes a copy and the titular operation begins, to deliver the letter to the soldier’s family. Will all the children manage this, and what further secrets will the letter unveil?
This is an unusual take on World War Two, as what happened to POW letters is very rarely mentioned. It was wonderful to see a three-dimensional disabled character as one of the main protagonists. Disability, prejudice and history are strong themes. The twist at the end of this novel is highly unusual and commendable in that it shows young people how to deal with grief and the true costs of war.
