My Gentle War. Memoir of an Essex Girl by Joy Lennick.

                       My Gentle War. Memoir of an Essex Girl by Joy Lennick.

Alien birds gargantuan/Spewed fire-sent seagulls/Scattering to hover low-Chilling their white underbellies/On the grey, choppy waves.   In a Village Sky.1941.

Joy Lennick makes it clear that her temporary stay on Mountain Hare and its ominous coal slag, looking down on Merthyr Tydfil was a treasured time in spite of being separated from her family. Her childhood memories were ones of kindness, curiosity and hostility: "as the years multiply, it seems to spin like a giddying, gaudily colourful tin top from my childhood."

The 1930s were eventful years probably for all the wrong reasons. Regarded as the grimmest years since the end of WW1 “unwept, unhonoured and unsung” it is a naive statement to say that this was a wonderful time to be born. It wasn’t. Remember the Hindenberg disaster, Hitler as German Chancellor, the Japanese invasion of China or the Spanish Civil War, an unending list of disasters.

Coming up to the late thirties Dagenham in Essex was still considered to be “pretty in places” with a few thatched cottages, a friendly and peaceful environment although that was soon to change. The slaughterhouse was a blot on the landscape, a sharp contrast and through the innocence of the child, “War was a foreign country and just a three lettered word.”  It meant nothing to the likes of Joy Lennick, too young to feel threatened by an unknown entity.

Joy was the eldest child of three: Bryan Charles and Terence John were her two younger brothers followed later by Royce Kenneth. When father Charles was on “short hours” financially it was tough. Shredded wheat box soles were fitted into their shoes and mother, Lila had to pawn her engagement ring. In contrast to their grandparents who had almost starved to death during the Great Depression Joy’s family weren’t so destitute. Her memoirs refer to the “Topsy-turvy” world and the “simplicity of our childhood threatened by an unknown, mysterious something.” Of course war was looming.

On 9^th September 1939, Lila and the three children went to Merthyr Tydfil, its pastoral beauty eroded through coal mining and iron ore. Described through the eyes of a child as a “new, slightly nerve-wracking, exciting phrase” of her young life. It was an adventure. Charles had joined the R.A.F. Reserve in May 1939 perhaps having had an inkling of an imminent war? His destination was unknown when he was mobilised although Lila believed he was probably heading for France. He was probably one of the first men to be mobilised. Lila’s war effort was in munitions.

So, imagine this scene at Paddington train station. Hankies fluttering like anaemic bunting and likened to a seething mass of humanity as people kissed goodbye to their loved ones, common and regular scenes throughout the U.K. Straight out of a Wilfred Owen scene. Carrying their gas masks and otherwise travelling light, the children were to become some of the many evacuees. Initially they were going to stay with Lila’s first cousin, Aunt Sal. Unemployment was high in Merthyr Tydfil and consequently many families were living on the poverty line. The local children resented this intrusion and the evacuees were treated like aliens. They resorted to picking flights. During the first week of the war 200 unofficial evacuees settled here. Paradoxically, war was raging but on Mountain Hare, peace reigned. This was Joy Lennick’s gentle war in comparison to her father’s brutal war.

Bryan was separated from his siblings and stayed with Aunt Alice. Joy’s over-imaginative mind of Pencoedcae, “our wood” makes for good reading with scary images straight out of The Brothers Grimm, images of an ancient Pict or a woad-painted warrior “brandishing an axe.”  Otherwise, Wales provided the children with a relatively safe haven apart from a bomb that exploded harmlessly on a hill although Swansea suffered 43 recorded air attacks, the Three Night Blitz and Cardiff was also bombed.

Charles’ war diaries have been included to show the reality of war and his close encounters with death. Leaving France before the evacuation of Dunkirk was a treacherous experience-6 hours of bombing, wreckage, scenes of carnage compared to “an earthbound Dante’s inferno.”

We read about human resilience, the inner strength needed to deal with immense losses and devastation. For the children who were immune to the emotional grief suffered by so many, we are told about “a huge feeling of camaraderie and humour” to lift the spirit. It added a sense of normality to their lives. For Joy, dance was a form of escapism and she relished the opportunity to wear costumes and perform in front of an audience. She was fortunate in being able to train at The Tiller Girls’ Dance School in the West End.

The family suffered their own losses. Uncle Bernard  was missing in action at 22. His status was later changed to missing presumed killed. Aunt Sal’s nephew Islwyn was 17 when he was killed in the mines. Pit accidents were far too common and over 6,000 pit deaths were listed in Wales.

Joy speaks fondly of their Nomadic blood, being tagged and sent to Long Eaton in Derbyshire. More like pawns of war,  this experience was an unhappy one. Once it was evident how miserable they were, they returned home to Dagenham. Fortunately their house was still standing after the Luftwaffe “relentlessly rained bombs on poor old London” for 57 consecutive days and nights. High explosive bombs had fallen near the family home and a parachute mine was dropped in their street. Her home suffered damage to the roof and back window, a small price to pay considering how many innocents were killed.

The memoirs take us through to the declaration of peace and the celebrations around Westminster Bridge. Her enigmatic adventure took on a different form with her first trip overseas with Aunt Doris in the hope of discovering Bernard’s final resting place. Joy imagined him “floating forever in the English Channel or the North Sea.” The memoirs are interesting and informative. Recommended reading.

Publisher: Word Play.  ISBN: 13: 978-1480066632.

REVIEW it by Carol Naylor.

Copyright 2015. Permission must be obtained from the author before this article review is reproduced.