The central theme of Love Letters from World War II is the story of Alan and Sheila Stevenson and their separation by war.
Alan was a young doctor with his first ‘proper’ job. But in 1939, three months after the birth of their first son, Britain declared war on Germany and Alan sailed immediately to France. World War Two had started. It would be six weary years before they were able to live together as a family again.
The letters which make up this book are a marvelous heart-warming record of enduring love with all the tribulations of forced separation. To the two young people these are wasted years which can never be recovered. Alan survives Dunkirk, narrowly misses the D-Day invasion and is sent to the Gold Coast in West Africa (Ghana) where he finds himself in a new and amazing country. Food is plentiful, there is no rationing and there is a warm sea to swim in. He is there to combat malaria and his work takes him into remote jungle and isolated villages.
Sheila sits in freezing, dirty, industrial Wakefield (coal is hard to get and of course no central heating) far from her Scottish family, with two small children who always seem to be ill. Food and clothing are strictly rationed. She finds a first grey hair and wonders if, on his return, he will think she has become old. Alan reassures her he is still the same man as when he left, but the reader knows they have both changed. The Germans surrender in early May 1945, and Alan learns he may be sent directly to the East to join the fight against the Japanese. He daren’t tell Sheila.
‘Love Letters from Wold War Two’ is a passionate love story and an intriguing social commentary on the very different lives and attitudes of 1939 to 1945.
About The Author
Robert Stevenson, their first child, transcribed these letters as a tribute to his parents, and so that they might perhaps be remembered by younger family. He has added explanatory notes and appendices and pictures. Robert found the work a journey of discovery as the people he knew as ‘Mum and Dad’ were revealed as far more than the elderly people he remembered. They are now seen as passionate young people. Robert worked in the computer, office equipment, and communications business. In 1980 he moved to Hampshire and started his own computer company. He is now retired and lives in the New Forest where he enjoys writing, horse riding and sailing.
This book is produced by Robert Stevenson Publishing in conjunction with WRITERSWORLD, and is produced entirely in the UK. It is available to order from most bookshops in the United Kingdom, and is also globally available via UK based Internet book retailers.