All the Pennies in the World

Almost everybody knows about the London Blitz. Hardly anyone outside Britain knows about those other cities, small towns and hamlets, schools and little shops, that were bombed in World War II, or those people who were machine gunned while tending their ‘Victory Gardens’. Susan Mayall’s memoir, “All the Pennies in the World”, recalls these forgotten acts of war, and how it was for her family both before and during those times. 

Born in 1933, when Hitler came to power in Germany, her happy early childhood was overshadowed by the fear of war. Her father, a Royal Marine officer, was often away on warships patrolling distant parts of the world. But when he was home life was full of glamour and excitement, with two adventurous parents who were still very much in love.

When war broke out in 1939 not much changed immediately for Susan and her two younger brothers. But gradually it began to affect almost every aspect of life. Their father went off to join a new battle cruiser, the HMS Bonaventure. Gas Masks were issued, bomb shelters were built, familiar foods began to disappear. Nights were spent in the cellar while bombs started falling around them.

Then one sunny April morning a letter arrived — “in a brown, official looking envelope”.

The rest of the book describes the effects of this letter on all the family – how the war followed them, but how they found compensations in beautiful places and a loving extended family — how the children dealt with a silent, grief stricken mother who eventually started to laugh again and race them down the street. It covers their loneliness when questions weren’t answered, but also the fun of ‘spy hunting’, the excitement when American soldiers arrived, and the joy of VE Day.

It’s a story of love and courage, fear and fun — the way one family responded to war, loss and uncertainty.