by Anne Bennett
Factory hooters joined in as people were released from their places of work and thronged the streets, some people singing and a few banging dustbin lids together, adding to the general cacophony. Connie arrived home with Jennifer Webster for the schools had been closed and Jennifer thought her too young to come home on her own.
Even Connie, catching the atmosphere, was excited though she wasn’t sure why. Euphoria gripped the crowd and Angela would have liked to have joined them, but Mary had a bad cold and she wouldn’t leave her that day of all days, but Connie was allowed to go with Nancy Webster and her children who promised to look after her. ‘You shouldn’t be staying here with an old woman either,’ Mary said. ‘You should be off with the rest.’
‘I am not staying with an old woman,’ Angela retorted. ‘I am staying with a mother I love with all my heart. I’d prefer to be nowhere else and I want to remember the man we have lost and Stan too. The end of the war has come too late for us and many more like us.’
‘Yes,’ said Mary, ‘but not for Connie.’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘Well that’s the legacy her father has assured for her because they say this has been the war to end all wars.’
‘It’s true; they do say that, yes.’
‘Well she will grow up without a father, but the carnage has been such that there will be lots of fatherless children and all those fathers will have died so that Connie and the rest might marry and have sons of their own, safe in the knowledge they will not be snatched away to fight in a war. Her generation will not be blighted by war as this generation has been.’
What sense Mary spoke, Angela thought. She’d been feeling so downhearted. She knew that Barry would have gladly given his life to secure a better future for his daughter and in the same spirit she must live with his loss and deal with the guilt feelings that nagged at her almost constantly. Each night she prayed earnestly for the little winter waif she had left behind on the workhouse steps, the baby she still grieved for. And each night she also thanked God that she had Connie and Mary hopefully for a good few years yet, so she was almost content.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I had trouble with my eyes as I was attempting to write this book and as eyes are extremely important, particularly for a writer, I was very worried indeed. The problem was, almost seven years ago, I had the lenses in both eyes changed as I was growing cataracts behind them. The consultant assured me I would have almost A1 vision after the operations and would never develop cataracts and sure enough, just as he said, I could for the first time read, watch television, work on the computer etc. without glasses. It was wonderful.
Four years down the line, I noticed a slight deterioration in my sight and put it down to natural ageing, but this deterioration continued and I thought that I must have Macular Degeneration. I said nothing, but over the years bought a daylight lamp and stronger and stronger reading glasses. By the time I was writing The Forget-Me-Not Child, my eyesight suddenly deteriorated further to the extent I could see very little − including the keyboard, which was a blur − or what I was writing.
I eventually took myself off to the optician expecting to hear her say that I was losing my sight and there was nothing that could be done and I was delighted to hear that that was not the case at all. The fact was, that though the cataracts had been removed, the debris that would have grown behind the cataracts had continued to increase and the best news of all was it was treatable. I had to wait more than three weeks to see a surgeon for laser treatment but apart from daily eye drops and a few floaters, afterwards I was able to see again.
I am always grateful to have such a strong team behind me at HarperCollins but never more than then, for they were so understanding and supportive particularly my editor Kate Bradley and my agent Judith Murdoch. My heartfelt thanks go to them and also Charlotte Brabbin, my publicist Hayley Camis and to Rhian McKay who did such a sterling job on the second copy edits. Writers usually work alone and it is sometimes a relief to know I have a comfort blanket of such reassuring people at my back and I owe a debt of gratitude to you all.
I am also grateful I can rely on the support of the family too: my husband, Denis; my three daughters – Nikki and her husband Steve; Tamsin and her husband Mark; my daughter Beth; my son Simon and his wife Carol and of course the five grandchildren − all of you are immensely dear to me.
But the most important people of all are you, the readers, for without you there would be no point in doing what I do. I value every single one of you, so thank you from the bottom of my heart and I sincerely hope you enjoy this book, it is start of a trilogy. I love it when you write and tell me what you think.
About the Author
Anne Bennett was born in a back-to-back house in the Horsefair district of Birmingham. The daughter of Roman Catholic, Irish immigrants, she grew up in a tight-knit community where she was taught to be proud of her heritage. She considers herself to be an Irish Brummie and feels therefore that she has a foot in both cultures. She has four children and five grandchildren. For many years she taught in schools to the north of Birmingham. An accident put paid to her teaching career and, after moving to North Wales, Anne turned to the other great love of her life and began to write seriously. In 2006, after sixteen years in a wheelchair, she miraculously regained her ability to walk.
Visit www.annebennett.co.uk to find out more about Anne and her books.
If you enjoyed The Forget-Me-Not Child, then you’ll love these other brilliant wartime tales from Anne Bennett, all available to buy now.
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‘The beauty of Anne’s books is that they are about normal people and are sewn through with human emotions which affect us all’
Birmingham Post
By the Same Author
A Little Learning
Pack Up Your Troubles
Walking Back to Happiness
Till the Sun Shines Through
Danny Boy
Daughter of Mine
Mother’s Only Child
To Have and to Hold
A Sister’s Promise
A Daughter’s Secret
A Mother’s Spirit
The Child Left Behind
Keep the Home Fires Burning
Far From Home
If You Were the Only Girl
A Girl Can Dream
A Strong Hand to Hold
Love Me Tender
Another Man’s Child
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