The Yarns

Potatoes, a Balloon, and a Half Crown - WWII

A boy lay alone in an air raid bunker. Another nervously peered out of his bed covers. A young girl looked frantically in a pond. It was WW2

"They called me Blackout" - Defending Stockton during WWII

Thirty gunners all stood surrounding the Vickers QF 3.7inch anti- aircraft gun, on the shores of Stockton, eyes scanning sky and sea.

Russell Fuller: "Meet the 16th, the Gallant 16th"

Soldiers sat distracted by sound and screen, yet unbeknownst to them on a hill nearby, 18-year-old Russell Fuller was spinning yarns.

William Edwin Pidgeon: Sketching Battles of WWII

He was commissioned to sketch the battlers of WWII, yet three of his rough sketches held a bigger story.

Des White: 'Grenades, a Coconut and Footy' in WWII

From coal mining town to Papua New Guinea. 18 year old Des was conscripted into WWII.

Joan Pelling: 'World War II on my doorstep'

Finding joy during a terrible time in modern History. These are stories about navigativing through World War 2 between the ages of 7 and 11.

Joan Parker: How to have fun in 1940's England

If your garden property didn’t have the range of food required to satisfy you, I guess you could always secretly scour the neighbour’s...

David Hallworth: A 7 year old’s account of World War II

After taps against his window, 7-year-old, David, didn’t know what to expect, and definitely didn’t imagine seeing the ghostly silhouette.

Norman Parker: An 11 year old’s account during World War II

My Granny-Grandad, Norman Parker was born in Barrow-in-Furness, England, on the 25th April, 1930. Due to his father’s employment as an...