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90 pages

English

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"See you soon Caroline!"A young English girl, exploring her family history as part of a homework assignment, stumbles across an episode in the life of her family which takes her to the remains of internment camps in the south of France. She learns about the evil and suffering, but also about the courage and heroism which saved her grandfather's life. The story follows Caroline's attempts to discover the truth behind her grandfather's mysterious origins. We follow her to the Shoah Museum in Paris, and to the site of the Drancy camp where thousands of Jews were held before being sent to their deaths in Poland.When she arrives in the south of France she discovers that behind the sunny beaches and relaxed holiday atmosphere there is a dark and unhappy past of suffering, hunger, sickness and death of which most people are unaware. She learns that not only the Jews but Spanish people also suffered here.But all is not gloom. She meets and commences a happy relationship with a local lad who opens her eyes to the hidden history of the region. Together they solve the mystery of her grandfather's family, and the story ends with a dramatic revelation which no-one could have foreseen!This is a book for teenagers and young adults. Although a work of fiction, it is based on the true story of an Irish woman, Mary Elmes, working for the American Quakers in France throughout the Second World War. In 2014 she was honoured by Yad Vashem in the State of Israel as "Righteous among the Nations", the first Irish person to receive this honour.Lisa G, an American award-winner film producer says of "See you soon, Caroline!"I loved "See you soon, Caroline!" I planned to start with the first chapter and ended up reading the entire novel in two sittings. I found the narrative to be very compelling and cared deeply about all of the characters. Caroline's enthusiasm for and commitment to her family history project, and how she encouraged her entire family to open up to the experience, is so inspiring. I hope "See you soon, Caroline" encourages young people to talk to their parents and their grandparents, and to get to know their personal histories. And, also, to not make assumptions and fast judgements about other people. This story unfolds like a mystery. The writing was so good that I was able to visualize all of the places Caroline visited with her family. I think it will have great appeal to middle school and high school students because they will find their contemporaries in Caroline, John and Pierre.Another review:The writer has found a great way to tell the story of how Quakers and others helped persecuted Jews in France in World War 2. A schoolgirl is given a project on family history which leads to discoveries about her own background which take her on a fascinating journey to Europe. Teenagers (and older readers) will be gripped by what she uncovers on her trip and who she meets (and grows very fond of!) It would be great if this book was widely read by young people for not only is it a great story but it also has an important message.

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Publié par	eBookPartnership.com
Date de parution	19 mai 2014
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781783014507
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0124€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

See you soon Caroline!
By Bernard Wilson
A story of our times for young people
2014 Bernard S Wilson
Bernard S Wilson has asserted his rights in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
Published by eBookPartnership.com
First published in eBook format in 2014
ISBN: 978-1-78301-450-7
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of the Publisher.
All names, characters, places, organisations, businesses and events are either the product of the author s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
eBook Conversion by www.ebookpartnership.com
To my grandchildren:
Charlotte, Hannah, Joshua and Sarah Bosley
Who all encouraged me to write this book.
Preface
Some time ago I discovered and read Rosemary Bailey s book Love and War in the Pyrenees . This led me to an interest in the work of the Quakers in the South West of France during the war, and eventually to writing an article for a Quaker blog. I then began to receive enquiries from various people asking if I could help them. One of these was Professor Ronald Friend of Portland, Oregon, who was seeking information on Mary Elmes, who had rescued him as a child from deportation to the gas chambers of Poland.
I am indebted to Mr Don Davis and the American Friends Service Committee who made available to me their extensive archive of letters and documents from that period. With this material it was possible to learn more about Mary Elmes and her life and work, and subsequently with Professor Friend, to nominate her to Yad Vashem in Jerusalem for recognition as a Righteous Gentile .
Along the way, I met and forged a friendship with Mary s two children, Caroline Danjou and Dr Patrick Danjou, both of whom also helped me with their own private collection of papers and letters.
I would like to thank all these people for their help and encouragement in my research. I must also mention Les Trajectoires , a group of French teachers and others who have a particular interest in the camps of that region of France, and who helped me find Mary s surviving family. Also, I would like to thank the several Spanish and Catalan friends who have offered suggestions, particularly Carme Gali Izard who helped me with the chapter on the Retirada.
Several friends have urged me to write about my researches, but I have resisted the suggestion that I should attempt any kind of scholarly work. I simply do not have the time or the skills for such an undertaking. But, encouraged by my grandchildren, I have written this short story about an imaginary family whose members find themselves following the same path as mine, though with far more personal involvement! My hope is that other young people may have their eyes opened to the events which took place in the lifetime of their grandparents, and learn from this book the lessons which previous generations have not.
Finally, I must thank my wife Janet for spending two years with me, reading and recording details from the archives, and for tolerating the hours which I spend alone with my books and computer.
Table of Contents
Preface
Chapter One: Caroline s Homework
Chapter Two: The Code
Chapter Three: John Bond
Chapter Four: The Camp
Chapter Five: An embarrassing encounter
Chapter Six: A breakthrough
Chapter Seven: Not odd, just different!
Chapter Eight: Dr Bond
Chapter Nine: The Holocaust Museum
Chapter Ten: Perpignan, France.
Chapter Eleven: Languedoc, France.
Chapter Twelve: The Convoys
Chapter Thirteen: Drancy
Chapter Fourteen: Argeles-sur-Mer
Chapter Fifteen: Pierre
Chapter Sixteen: The Argeles camp
Chapter Seventeen: Collioure
Chapter Eighteen: Rivesaltes
Chapter Nineteen: Perpignan
Chapter Twenty: The Maternity at Elne
Chapter Twenty One: Saying Goodbye!
Chapter Twenty Two: Bient t Caroline!
Postscript
About this book
Bient t Caroline!
Chapter One: Caroline s Homework
England, 2013
Martin Shaw glanced at the clock on the classroom wall. He had just about enough time to introduce the last item of homework to be done during the summer holidays.
Choice number three he read. Those of you who don t fancy tackling number one or two may find this one more to your tastes. You re challenged to find out about your own family history! History isn t just about dates and Kings, Prime Ministers - that sort of thing. It s about you - and people like you .
He was on his feet now, walking around the classroom, moving between the desks. This challenge - homework if you like - is to find out about your ancestors, who they were and what they did. Where they lived, where they came from. How many children they had. What sort of life they had. When you ve done this, you ll be able to place yourself in the context of history. You ll be able to see how you fit into the history of this little corner of the planet!
He stopped by one desk near the front of the room. You haven t chosen a topic yet Caroline, have you? Does this appeal to you?
I ve never really thought about it she admitted. Caroline Weaver, like the other youngsters in the class, was just sixteen, and more interested in the here and now than the past. But she did enjoy the history lessons that Mr Shaw taught. He was younger than most of the teachers in the school, not that much older than she was herself she thought. Perhaps that was why she never found his lessons boring or tedious. He had a way of making every lesson seem fresh and lively. It was never just a list of facts to be remembered, but always something that made her think, and challenged her opinions.
How many of you have watched the Who do you think you are programmes? He was addressing the whole class now. A few hands went up. Did you enjoy them - did they interest you? Yes, John?
John Bond, a tall youth sitting at the back of the room answered. Yes - but they are all celebrities. They re not ordinary people like us. I don t find that I can really relate to their stories . This was greeted with a groan from the rest of the class. John was known as a bit of a bore!
Well, here s your chance said the history teacher. Find out what lies at the root of your family tree!
A few minutes later, the lesson ended, Caroline was standing at the teacher s desk. How do I get started? she asked.
You need first of all to talk to someone in your family. Your grandfather for example. You need to be able to go back to 1911. Your grandfather s parents would have been alive then. He will be able to tell you their names, where they lived, and when they were born. I suppose your Grandad is still alive, is he?
Yes, he s fine! And he only lives a few miles away, so that s no problem! But what do I do when I ve got this information?
That s where 1911 comes in! Every ten years, when the year ends in a one , there is a national census. They are kept secret for one hundred years, so the latest one that we can read is the census of 1911. If you can spare another five minutes, I ll show you what to do!
Walking home on her own for once, Caroline considered the challenge. It sounded interesting, even fun. And it was useful too. She would end up knowing more about her own family. What sort of people they were. What kind of problems they had to face. Perhaps she would find out where her artistic skills came from? She was good at art, whereas her Mum and Dad couldn t draw anything that could be recognised! It caused a lot of stress when they played Pictionary! Nobody wanted to be on Dad s team!
She tried to imagine what life would have been like in 1911. Where did they live? Were they well-off, or poor workers in factories or perhaps farm-hands working all hours and living in cottages without water or electricity? Suddenly, Caroline found herself filled with a burning curiosity: she couldn t wait to get started. And that meant going to see Grandad! Tomorrow was Saturday. She would go and see him then.
Caroline s family ate their main meal of the day at six-o-clock, when her father got home from his office work in the centre of town. Her mother worked in the Nursery School just round the corner, so she had plenty of time to get home and prepare the meal. However, at week-ends, her father insisted on doing the cooking, and often Caroline and her older brother Simon mucked in as well.
Today her mind was not on food, she was already planning how she was going to tackle Grandad about his family. She was partly in favour of discussing the whole enterprise with her parents during the meal, but something held her back. She thought she would keep the whole thing to herself until she had made some progress. It would just be her and Grandad. As long as she could remember, her Grandad had been an important part of her life. As a young child, she had enjoyed the times she had stayed with her grandparents in their house with its enormous garden out in the country. But that had been when Granny was alive, now poor old Grandad was all alone, and had moved to be nearer them in a small flat just twenty minutes away.
You re quiet tonight Caroline! said Dad. He was looking at her dreamily pushing her shepherd s pie around the plate. Something on your mind? She smiled, Yes she said, A secret - well sort of, at the moment anyway. Something I need to talk to Grandad about. I think I ll cycle over tomorrow to see him.
We ought to have him over for a meal this weekend said Mum looking up. It s be