My Father Was A Hero

'Achtung!' echoed across the playgrounds of 1970s Britain as the last generation brought up on the folklore of the Second World War played out childhood fantasies of good verses evil. Grandad must have been a hero because he was a soldier, and Dad was a hero too, because he was Dad.

But then the schoolyard warriors grew up and discovered reality was far more complicated than their imaginations had allowed. Childish questions about the past were often answered with silence. Cole Moreton's grandfather would never discuss the war - few people of his age did - and his father would say nothing of his childhood beyond dark hints. So what had happened that still hurt so much after so long? And why would nobody talk about it?

This account of trying to break the family silence is tender and moving, as fractured memories and tall tales slowly yield the painful secrets of life among the blitzed-out ruins.