After The War: From Auschwitz To Ambleside by Tom Palmer (Barrington Stoke, 2020)

Anyone who watched BBC TV’s drama, The Windermere Children, or its accompanying documentary cannot fail to have been moved by the true story of the young survivors of the Holocaust, the care they received in the Lake District, and their eventual (and remarkable) joy, enthusiasm and life-long friendships.

Experienced children’s author, Tom Palmer, was so inspired by the children’s stories that he approached Trevor Avery BEM of the Lake District Holocaust Project to ask if he could write a book about the Jewish children and their time by Windermere. In Trevor’s foreword to the book, he praises Tom for being “utterly dedicated to doing the story justice” and for “being always full of the same compassion as those who helped the children in their early days of recovery”.

Although the story is fiction, it is based on the recollections of some of the survivors, as well as those of Holocaust experts. Tom spoke personally with Arek Hersh, Mala Tribich, and Ike Alterman, three of the Windermere children. He also met with Joyce, whose family were bombed out of Liverpool, moving to the Calgarth Estate by Windermere during the war. Joyce and her dog, along with football coach, Jock Lawrence, are a few of the real people who appear in Tom’s novel. However, Tom makes clear in his acknowledgements that every scene in the book is “based on the recollection of real events”.

After the War centres on three boys out of the three hundred children who arrived in the Lake District at the end of the Second World War in August 1945. The story focuses on Yossi, his friendship with Leo and Mordecai, his memories (told in flashbacks) of his life before and during his time in Nazi concentration camps, and his hopes for a reunion with his missing father.

Tom manages to clearly convey the horrors and realities of the Holocaust in a way that is suitable for young readers. The story is engaging, easy to read and well-paced, using flashbacks in a way that avoids any scene from becoming overwhelming. Overall, the book captures the humanity of the Windermere children, the local people who became their friends, and the special adults who helped them heal and prepare them for an adult life filled with peace and hope.

What was your background before writing this book?

I had written lots of sport fiction and some history stories, most based very closely on the testimony of those involved. Before that, I was a bookseller (Waterstone’s and Dillons) and worked for libraries and The Reading Agency.

Why did you want to write about the “Windermere children”?

I didn’t at first. I didn’t feel like I could do it. But my wife and then a Holocaust historian I came to know encouraged me and gave me the belief. Then I was swept up by the story of how these children came to the UK as refugees having lost everything and everyone and – through friendship with each other – found some hope.

Why did you feel this was an important story to tell?

So that we don’t forget the Holocaust. So that we see such events coming next time and do something about it. So that we can see how refugees can benefit from coming to a safe country and how that safe country can benefit from having refugees come.

What’s next for you and your writing?

Another one set in Cumbria. It’s going to feature water and mountains and a couple of aeroplanes. That’s all I can say at the moment.

Tom Palmer is a children’s author. He writes historical and sports fiction and has been nominated for the Carnegie medal four times. Winner of the UK Children’s Book Award in 2020 and the Ruth Rendell Award for services to literacy in the UK, he has been translated into 13 languages. www.tompalmer.co.uk