Blitz One Family’s War by Martin Impey
We have a touching blog from Martin Impey today all about Blitz, One Family’s War. Martin explains why this is a deeply personal and incredibly relevant book to share with younger readers.
The Beginning
To say that creating BLITZ – One Family’s War was a ‘journey’ is a bit of an understatement. It began after years of visiting schools to give talks and workshops on my books set around WW1, but there was a common request “Have you created anything set around WW2?”. I’d had the idea of creating a children’s book based on the Blitz in WW2 for many years, but finding the time to do it justice was proving difficult. Then as Covid 19 swept across the globe, the government explaining about us having a unique period in lockdown – with shops and warehouses closed and the phone not ringing – our world seemed to drop into a period of deep slumber. I thought maybe then was the right time to start Blitz One Family’s War.
I had created many thumbnail drawings and ideas in my sketchbooks over the years, so it was really just a matter of collating and bringing them to life.
Drawing on Inspiration
The idea to create it was originally inspired by my own family’s experiences during the Blitz on London’s East End. My grandparents were living in Bow, where my father was born shortly before the war. They said it was a close community with my Uncles, Aunts and Grandparents all living within a few roads of each other.
At the outbreak of WW2 my Grandfather volunteered to become a fireman in the AFS (Auxiliary Fire Service), at that point surely he couldn’t have imagined that he and many others brave souls would be on the frontline of London’s defense against Hitler’s invasion plans, later being described by Winston Churchill as the ‘Heroes with grimy faces’.
I wanted to set this story where they lived in Dane Place as a tribute them, however, as it was destroyed and rebuilt after the war, there was nothing left of the old street nor were there any photos showing how it looked for me to draw from. I began extensive research online, I walked the streets seeking out many sites in London and key locations (looking for evidence of WW2). I visited the archives held at Tower Hamlets History Library, where I managed to find street maps of the area, this along with studying the surrounding street architecture, I was able to reimagine what Dane Place would have looked like when my family lived there.
The resulting details, for me, give the artwork integrity and where possible historical accuracy, which is so important.
How the Book Grew and Grew
The book was originally planned to consist of around 36 pages with a similar number of illustrations, it evolved into a book that needed more time, room and detail to fulfill what I wanted to achieve – a book that KS2 children of all abilities and older could look through and easily follow the story with minimal text – allowing for them to expand their own narrative to the illustrations – focusing more on the historical visual detail. I have added so many incidental details that I wanted parents and teachers to be able to plan discussion points easily. Visual examples like – why were the curbs, lampposts, traffic lights painted with black and white stripes? – What did the letters on the tin helmets stand for? – What was the ‘miracle of Dunkirk? ‘ – How big were Barrage Balloons and what were they used for? – Why was the train called ‘Pied Piper’? and so on… Other little details that I added are memories and links to my life growing up listening to emotional stories of a time that was full of togetherness and community, we saw echoes of that during Covid 19!
Although I have illustrated many books, this is my first that I have both written and illustrated. It has grown to 120 pages with 247 illustrations all packed with scenes familiar to those researching WW2 and the Blitz for projects, even the background to the front cover and some spreads are from an original German map with locations marked on the UK where the Luftwaffe had bombed at the time of the Blitz. The end papers feature elements from a paper gifted to me by a North Africa army veteran and also extracts from a diary kept by a child during the Blitz!
These experiences were repeated in many great cities across the country and so it is a tribute to ALL the locations and resilient people who withstood the aerial threat from the Nazis night after night and ‘Kept Calm & Carried On!’
Relevant Today
Sadly, the book and subject is as relevant today as ever before with conflicts, displaced people and ruined cities filling our news feeds and TV screens daily. I would like children to see the similarities in the then and now, safe in the knowledge that through education and time, yesterday’s enemies can become today’s friends.
Therefore it makes the book a multilevel volume with many purposes with the most important one – to inspire and encourage a love of books, art, history, reading and writing.
Remembering Our Past
The book has many important historical landmarks including May 2025 marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day and the end of WW2 in Europe and also the often forgotten VJ Day in August, marking an end to all hostilities.
BLITZ One Family’s War – The Book Itself
The book is released in 2 editions.
There is a 1st edition Hard Back, with specially designed end papers, ribbon marker and gold foil, spot UV varnish and soft touch lamination.
The second is a Special Edition LIMITED to only 250 copies! Each copy has been hand signed and numbered on an extra page. The book has a wibalin cloth cover, debossed title with gold foil to the spine and back. This is covered in a specially designed dust jacket again with gold foil, spot UV varnish, soft touch lamination, all housed in it’s own special bespoke dust jacket.
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