A warm-hearted tale of wartime survival against a backdrop of evacuation and bombs.


In June 1940, 10-year-old Pam Hobbs and her sister Iris took the long journey from their council home in Leigh-on-Sea to faraway rural Derbyshire. Living away from Mum and Dad for two long years, Pam was moved between four foster homes. In some she and Iris found a second family, with babies to look after, car rides and picnics, and even a pet pig. But other billets took a more sinister turn, as the adults found it easy to exploit the children in their care.

Returning to Essex, things would never be the same again, and the war was far from over. In Don't Forget to Write, Pam Hobbs describes with warmth and vivid detail a time that was full of overwhelming hardship yet also of kindness, humour, resilience and courage.