My wife and I visited Tyneham Village, Dorset last summer, the village where all residents were given short notice to leave just before Christmas 1943 when the surrounding area was commandeered by the then War Office (now MoD) for use as firing ranges for training troops. 252 people were displaced...
When I read an introduction to The Kid on Slapton Beach by Felicity Fair Thompson there was an immediate resonance with what I knew about Tyneham: "War is hard enough when your dad is missing in action and even harder when you have to leave everything you know and love. Twelve year old Harry is one of three thousand people leaving the coast in Devon during the Second World War as US troops move into the area, planning secret D-Day rehearsals on the beach there in April 1944. But what if your most treasured possession is left behind?...."
I suppose words like 'The Kid'... 'dad'... '12 year old'... should have been clues to the target audience of this book, definitely written for the younger reader!
Never mind though, I grudgingly admit that I am rather enjoying it....
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