Horsham man pens Memories of a Wartime Childhood

John Ivatts, who lives in the Roffey district of Horsham, is in print with Memories of a Wartime Childhood and Some Social Policy Implications.

As he explains: “This book has been written for my family and friends so as to put on the record events and experiences that we lived through as children and to discuss some of the child welfare policies that affected us during the period of the Second World War – lest we forget!

“These years were a formative period in British history and I think in many ways some of the effects still persist to the present. But this book also relates to contemporary Britain in 2025 and especially to our children and young people who amongst other things sometimes need to be reminded of what their grandparents and great grandparents collectively achieved during that war and in its immediate aftermath – not only the defeat of international fascism but extensive social reform.

“I do hope, therefore, that there is something of interest in this text and in its two appendices for any of my family and friends who read it and indeed for anyone else. Thus, although it contains details of only a single family’s experiences during WW2, and some details of that family’s history, the text also contains many factual details relating to the history of the war itself.

“This publication has been written and printed as a non-commercial private venture so at this stage it is not for sale. However a restricted number of copies are available on request to me personally. There would be no charge for the book but I would require reimbursement (when applicable) for postage and packing (£4) and I would suggest any recipient donates £10 to the Trussell Trust or to their nearest food bank. Readers will comprehend my motive for this request if they read Appendix 1.”

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“I was born in London in 1935 and lived in London and Oxford throughout the years of WW2; prompted by a local U3A writing group and Oxford University I’ve written up my childhood memories of those wartime years and (have) now self-published a 158-page book, amply illustrated. Family and friends have paid me many compliments concerning the interest and detailed war knowledge contained in the text; and my local Waterstones have been willing to market it locally.

“A particularly topical feature in the book is the story of my cousin who married one of the children rescued from the Nazis in Prague in May 1939 by the late Sir Nicholas Winton (see the film One Life with Anthony Hopkins and Helena Bonham-Carter about the Kindertransport).”