Tag Archives: World War II

Eve All Alone (1996)

Bunty, ,

Eve All Alone cover

Published: Bunty Picture Library #425

Artist: Unknown

Year: 1996

Plot

Gemma Halliday comes home from school one day to good news – her father’s company wants him and mum to spend the summer in Hong Kong. But the bad news is that Gemma can’t come as well. The company isn’t paying for her and the parents can’t afford it. Instead, Gemma will be spending the summer with Great Aunt Lyn in the country. Gemma is very disappointed to hear she won’t be going with her parents and is bracing herself for a summer holiday of boredom in the countryside with a great aunt she hardly knows.

Aunt Lyn is very nice, but Gemma still wishes to be with her parents, and her boredom increases when bad weather sets in. Aunt Lyn suggests she go up to the attic for something to read. Gemma is not hopeful that there will be anything decent to read, but is pleasantly surprised to come across an old diary. It starts in September 1939, when a twelve-and-a-half girl called Eve writes that she has just decided to start it.

Eve All Alone 1

Eve and her parents live in London. World War II has broken out, and there are tearful goodbyes to Dad as he departs to go into the army. Eve promises her father that she will look after Mum while he is away.

At school the teacher distributes letters for parents about children being evacuated to the countryside in case Germany bombs London. Mum declines the offer because she and Eve want to stay together. But then their home is destroyed in the Blitz. At this, Mum changes her mind and tells Eve that she is joining the next round of evacuees. Eve is horrified, but Mum is adamant. So Eve resolves to be brave and not cry over leaving her and going to an unknown fate.

Eve All Alone 2

Lunch interrupts Gemma’s reading. But now she is feeling less upset because her own separation from her parents is nowhere near as bad as Eve’s.

Upon the resumption, Gemma reads that at their destination, the evacuees were all taken in except Eve – Mrs McDonald, who was meant for her, has been taken ill. Evacuee organiser Mrs Barford hastily sets Eve up with Mrs Pettigrew, a reclusive-sounding woman living alone in a big house with a housekeeper.

Right from the start, Mrs Pettigrew’s is not the place Eve wants to be; the house looks “gloomy and scary”. Mrs Pettigrew herself “looks like a witch” and doesn’t behave much better. She has never welcomed lodgers – Mrs Barford virtually blackmails her into taking Eve by threatening to get her house commandeered for army barracks or hospital services if she refuses an evacuee.

But Mrs Pettigrew immediately goes to spiteful lengths to show Eve how unwelcome she is. She gives Eve the attic bedroom (tiny and cold) when the more kindly housekeeper offered her the more plush spare room. When the housekeeper offers Eve porridge for breakfast, Mrs Pettigrew directs her to make Eve’s porridge with water because she wants all the creamy milk. Then she forces Eve to do the washing up although Eve protests that it will make her late for school, and she suspects that was precisely Mrs Pettigrew’s intention.

Eve All Alone 3

Soon Mrs Pettigrew is making Eve work like a slave. All the while she allows Eve so little food that Eve cannot sleep for hunger, even though she is worn out because of the work. Added to that, Eve starts hearing strange noises (a door banging for no reason, mysterious footsteps) and Mrs Pettigrew starts winding her up about the house being haunted.

Meanwhile, an enemy plane is shot down and one of the pilots escapes. Now there is a manhunt for him and everyone is on the lookout, but so far the airman is evading capture.

In between reads, Gemma learns not to turn up her nose at food she doesn’t like (better than going to bed hungry like Eve), and introduces Aunt Lyn to bowling. She is delighted to see Aunt Lyn enjoying it and thinks her childhood must have been really boring. But Gemma can’t wait to get back to the diary; it is a riveting read now.

Now food goes missing. Mrs Pettigrew blames Eve and punishes her by allowing her no breakfast for a week, and the work gets harder. More food goes missing, but the kindly housekeeper agrees not to mention it to Mrs Pettigrew; she reckons Mrs Pettigrew is taking it herself. Where possible, the housekeeper shows Eve kindness.

Then Eve finds a man’s footprints on the kitchen floor she just cleaned, and they go straight to the larder. Eve realises there is a man creeping about in the house, which explains the strange noises and missing food. Assuming that Mrs Pettigrew is hiding the missing German airman, Eve goes to the police. But it is not the airman (who gets captured later) but Mrs Pettigrew’s son Peter. She had been hiding Peter in the cellar to keep him away from the fighting, but now he is arrested for “shirking”. Following this, Mrs Barford takes Eve away from Mrs Pettigrew, saying something else has turned up for her anyway.

Eve All Alone 4

And in the next village, Eve is surprised to be reunited with Mum! Mum didn’t like being on her own, so she got herself a job as a cook at a big house in the countryside in order to be with Eve again. They are going to stay there until the war ends – and there ends the diary. Gemma wishes she could know if Eve’s Dad ever came home.

But next day Gemma discovers that Eve is Aunt Lyn (Eve and Lyn are short for Evelyn). Aunt Lyn does not mind Gemma reading the diary one bit. Yes, Dad did come home, and there was “quite a to-do” when she exposed Mrs Pettigrew and Peter. Recalling her earlier assumptions about Aunt Lyn having a boring childhood, Gemma realises how wrong you can be about people.

Thoughts

This story is certainly a lesson in expectations and not making assumptions about anyone or anything until you know more about them. Gemma came in with expectations of a boring, miserable summer with no parents, and she came away with a whole new appreciation for the things she has, her aunt, and also family history. And Gemma reciprocated her aunt as well, such as introducing her to bowling for the first time in her life. So grownups can learn from kids as well.

Eve All Alone 5

It is also a story about two girls undergoing the pain of separation but being united through the diary. As Gemma reads, her own pain of separation lessens as she learns that there are others who are worse off than herself, including the girl she is reading about. Eve has no idea when – or even if – her father will return from the fighting. Then she loses her home in the Blitz and the forced separation from her mother to an uncertain fate as an evacuee. Things go from bad to worse when Eve endures starvation, drudgery and misery under the spiteful Mrs Pettigrew. Mrs Pettigrew’s motives for abusing Eve are more rounded than most adults who treat their charges badly in similar stories. She was clearly selfish and mean by nature, but she was also a reclusive woman who understandably resented having Eve forced upon her, and she was no doubt worried about her secret being discovered. But of course that is no excuse for her treatment of Eve or helping Peter with “shirking”. After the punishment of the Pettigrews, it’s a happy ending for Eve when her mother moves to the country to be with her. The diary is the stuff of fairy tales.

Eve All Alone 6

Eve All Alone is an engaging story and one you could read again and again. World War II is always a theme that can guarantee engrossing stories about emotion, separation, hardship, courage, adventure and warfare, and this one is no exception. It also reminds us that the war didn’t bring out the best in everyone, especially if they were not the best of people to begin with. Eve’s story as an evacuee still resonates even generations later in her family, and the lessons it teaches come across in a heart-warming manner that is not preachy.

Curiously, the son Peter has exactly the same name as a Harry Potter villain – Peter Pettigrew. Yet Eve came out three years before Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. An anticipatory moment or a popular choice of name?

 

The Cat on the Trail of the German Flying Bomb (1976)

Bunty, , , , , , , ,

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Bunty Picture Library: #161

Artist: Mike White

Published: 1976

 Plot:

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, Marie Bonnet is despised for appearing to be over-friendly with the Germans, particularly the Commandant. Josee and Burnetta are two bullies who are always picking on Marie over it. Nobody suspects that the apparent collaboration is all part of Marie’s cover for her secret life as a costumed resister known as “The Cat”!

The story opens with The Cat robbing the Commandant’s safe. The silly old boy thought hiding the key in the flower vase (clichéd!) would make the money “as safe as it would be in the bank in Berlin”. Plus, he never thinks to make his window more secure though he knows how The Cat can climb.

The Cat gives the loot to the town bank manager to redistribute among the poor. The Commandant is furious of course, but his retributive measures against The Cat (searches everywhere and new “wanted” posters that double the reward money) are futile.

Cat 1

Then fellow resister Henri puts out the signal for The Cat to call. When The Cat arrives, Henri says there has been a message from London to investigate happenings at the Chateau Villai. The chateau is heavily guarded, but The Cat infiltrates it (swimming the moat and then climbing the bell tower). She discovers a huge laboratory and fuel stores.

London orders a second infiltration, this time with a special camera they have sent, because they want photographs. The Cat gets the photographs (the laboratory, documents, scientists and the stores), but then a guard spots her and gives the alarm. She gets away on the top of a truck and slips into the woods. However, the Germans have now been alerted, which makes a third infiltration too risky.

Cat 3

When the photographs are developed, they reveal that the scientists are developing V.1 rockets. The resisters believe that these rockets are to be used on London and send the photographs there immediately. When Marie tries to pump information out of the Commandant later with her ‘friendliness’, she gets confirmation of what they suspect, but little else.

In London, the military realise they need time to build defences against the V.1, but bombing the weapons sites are ineffectual because they are too well protected. So they decide to enlist the aid of The Cat once more, to sabotage the rocket and cause the Nazis a setback that would buy them time to build their defences. They also dispatch one of their own men and explosives to help The Cat.

The man arrives safely, but then the Germans detect the plane. It is forced to take off with the explosives still on board. So The Cat raids the Germans’ stores for some replacement explosives.

Cat 5

However, at the chateau the Germans have built the launching site underground, which poses a problem in how to plant the explosives. Then the air-raid siren sounds and there is a bomb strike on the site. The bombing is accurate, but cannot destroy the launching site because it is underground. It is up to the resisters to do the rest, and the air raid gives The Cat an idea – trigger the air-raid siren to draw the Germans out.

So next night, they rig the siren to go off. The Germans are drawn out and into the air-raid shelter, and the resisters barricade them in there. They proceed to plant the explosives. But the Germans rumble the trick and manage to force their way out. They catch the resisters just as they are about to detonate the explosives. The explosives are set off, but there are still enough Germans ready to fire on the resisters. The Cat resorts to launching the V.1 that was meant for London – they have destroyed its guidance system, which turns it into a runaway rocket. It ends up landing on the chateau, where it ignites the fuel stores and creates a huge explosion that is a definite setback for the Germans and helps the resisters to escape.

Two months later the V.1s are launched against London, but the British now have defences against them. The military are pleased that more than half of the V.1s are failing to hit their targets, and are so grateful to Henri and The Cat for the time they bought them to prepare their defences. They wish they could give The Cat a medal. But until the war ends, it’s daily bullying for Marie as part of her secret war against the Nazis as The Cat.

Thoughts

This is the only Bunty Picture Library that was inspired by the Bunty classic serial “Catch the Cat”. It is a pity Bunty didn’t produce more Picture Libraries on The Cat, because they would have been extremely popular. The Cat is one of Bunty’s best-remembered characters and one of the most proactive heroines ever produced. She doesn’t hesitate to rob the Commandant in a Robin Hood style, commit acts of sabotage, help blow things up, or commit other acts of defiance that thumb her nose right at the Nazis, including leaving her trademark Cat signature. The costumed identity also adds to the appeal, as does the fact that there are no super-powers or gimmicky weapons. In fact, she isn’t armed at all. The only weapons she has are her suction pads, her incredible acrobatic abilities, and her amazing wits that can get her out of any scrape.

Cat 4

The Cat’s Clark Kent identity also arouses readers’ sympathies for her, because of the daily bullying she has to endure as part of pretending to be a collaborator in order to infiltrate the Germans. She always tells herself “One day they will know the truth”, “If only they knew” or other words of comfort, but she always looks sad and never holds her head very high against the jeers and ostracism from her fellow classmates. Living a secret life as The Cat does not do much for her schoolwork either, and we have to wonder at how much sleep she gets.

We also wonder why everyone, on both sides of the war, always thinks The Cat is a “he”. Why can’t anyone see that The Cat is a female? Not even Henri realises, and he is the one who is in the closest proximity to The Cat. Is it chauvinistic attitudes, or is there something about Marie that enables her to pass a male when it’s not so obvious that she’s a female? Whatever the reason, it must help Marie to keep her secret.

Cat 2

The picture library Cat story certainly is a strong, racy one. We see acts of war against the Nazis that are truly spectacular and go beyond sabotaging vehicles, sending Nazi commemorative statues to a watery fate, helping the Allies to bomb factories and such. Rather, we see The Cat helping to blow up rockets! How many heroines get to have such fun as that? And even before she starts on the rockets, she’s committing a heist on the Commandant. And it’s a heist that could have gotten her killed, because she has to haul a huge, heavy bag of loot across rooftops. We can just see that bag is so heavy that it could easily fall and send The Cat plunging to the ground with it. And how can The Cat lug anything so heavy across a rooftop? But she pulls it off, much to the gratitude of the townsfolk and the fury of the Commandant (next time, use safe combinations, Herr Commandant!).

And in her Cat identity, Marie even gets a bit of her own back on Josee and Burnetta in this story! They unwittingly get in her way during her second raid on the chateau, and she shoves them into a stream to get rid of them. They end up having to face very angry parents about their messed-up clothes. The sneaky girls twist it around to Marie later and brag that they helped The Cat. Little do they know!

But nobody must know until the war ends, which is what The Cat thinks to herself as she goes back on the prowl against the Nazis yet again in the last panel. How wonderful it would have been to see more of her prowling in the Picture Libraries.

Cat 6

Come Home, Kathleen / Kathy, Come Home!

Bunty, , ,
  • Come Home, Kathleen –  Bunty: #1030 (8 October 1977) – #1052 (11 March 1978)
  • Reprinted: Bunty: #1626 (11 March 1989) – #1648  (12 August 1989)
  • Reprinted as Kathy, Come Home! – Lucky Charm: #9 (1980)
  • Art: Andy Tew

Plot

It’s the 1930s and Kathleen O’Connell lives in Donegal with her parents and six sisters and seven brothers. Life isn’t easy as they don’t have a lot of money but Kathy is happy with her family. Then her mother’s sister Therese arrives over from England with her daughter Emma. They propose to relieve the O’Connell’s burden a bit by adopting a child as a companion for Emma. As Kathleen is the closest in age to Emma, she is chosen.  When they arrive in London it turns out her Aunt  hasn’t been honest with her. The Laceys are actually struggling to keep their usual lifestyle and they expect Kathleen to work as a servant in return for taking her in. Kathy is very homesick but is unable to afford her fare back to Ireland, so she has to think of some way to get home.

The Laceys are crafty, they try to keep Kathy happy so she will continue to work for by pretending they actually  plan to visit Ireland, in the Summer.  Kathy is also a happy when she makes friends with the next door neighbour an elderly Irish woman, Mrs Keneally. She finds her comforting and understanding of her homesickness.  Even with the Lacey’s servants gone and Kathleen doing all the work, Therese finds they still need more money. Their troubles increase when Britain goes to war. The Laceys have another way of exploiting Kathy as she has a gift for reading tea leaves. Kathy doesn’t like charging people and she is upset by the many bad omens.  Letters from home tell Kathy how much her family miss her and would like her to come home. Not wanting to worry her family she  doesn’t let them know how homesick she is and all the work she is expected to do.

come home kathleen_01

Kathy is delighted when Mrs. Keneally decides to go back to Ireland and plans to sneak Kathy on the ship with her. But not long after departing the ship is hit, the old woman killed and the survivors brought back to England. Back with her Aunt and cousin life is getting more dangerous with the bombings in London, Kathy is very nearly killed in an attack. Kathy, Emma and other girls from their school are evacuated to the country. Kathy and Emma end up with a cruel woman Miss Jardine who works them hard, feeds them little and hits them. When Emma sees Kathy take a beating without crying, she begins to appreciate her cousin more and admires her courage. While Kathy wishes to complain about Miss Jardine to the teachers, Miss Jardine has scared Emma into staying quiet. More bad news arrives for Emma when her mother is killed in a bombing.

come home kathleen_02

While snooping around Emma finds something but before she can tell Kathy about what is is, Jardine catches her.  Jardine threatens her so badly that Emma believes she’ll be cursed if she says anything. When a plane bombs near the school, Emma nearly opens up to Kathy but ends up not saying anything.  Kathy investigates herself and is confronted by a big man and is poisoned and left helpless in bed. Miss Lewis comes home with Emma to check on Kathy and Kathy manages to blink S.O.S. to her. When she leaves Emma plucks up the courage to lock Jardine and the man in a room and help Kathy. The Jardines break out but luckily Miss Lewis had understood Kathy’s message and had gone to get the police.

come home kathleen_03

The Jardines had stolen a golden Egyptian sarcophagus from a museum and planned to sell it on. Miss Jardine had told Emma she had the Mummy’s curse upon her for disturbing it. The girls are relocated and even get a reward for the return of the precious item to the museum. When the war ends a few months later Kathy and Emma head to Ireland. Kathy assures Emma that her family will  welcome her into their home.

Thoughts

This is a good hardship story with things continuously getting more difficult for Kathy, (our upbeat protagonist) and obstacles in her attempts to get home. She is mistreated by relatives, she’s nearly killed several times, and has to deal with homesickness and  the war. While she shows courage and never lets events break her spirit, she can be quite naive at times. While early on she figures the Laceys are using her as a servant, whenever they act kind or promise a trip to Ireland, she believes them. Emma goes from spoilt brat – to losing everything and actually becoming close to Kathy. She is a good contrast to Kathy’s positive, hard working character and I like that her redemption isn’t rushed and she doesn’t change completely.

come home kathleen_04

The story is kept interesting with the changing settings, first Kathy just wants to earn her fare home, then the war makes a bad situation for Kathy worse. When her and Emma end up with Jardine as well as dealing with mistreatment, there is also a bit of a mystery about what Emma saw that goes on for a few issues. The story doesn’t feel rushed, but neither does it drag on too long. One criticism I do have is about how much time has passed. Although this is meant to be set from just before the war to the end, the girls don’t seem to age that much in attitude and physically. I’d maybe believe 2 years has passed but not much more. Other than not ageing, the art is good throughout, Miss Jardine looks appropriately creepy and menacing and the settings from wartime London to the country side are well done.

Little Miss Busyfingers

Mandy, , , , , , , ,

Plot

It is the end of World War II. All the other evacuees have left the Larches, home to Misses Daphne and Edith Burntree. Vi (Violet) Lambeth has stayed on because the housekeeper, Mrs Porter, is kind to her. But then the Misses Burntree sack Mrs Porter and start using Vi as an unpaid servant. They also get rid of the piano Mrs Porter left Vi as a gift, so Vi has to find other ways of playing the piano. And Vi has to contend with bullies at school as well.

busyfingers

Notes

  • Text Story
  • Spot Art: Tom Hurst

Appeared

  • Little Miss Busyfingers –  Mandy: #1232 (25 August 1990) – #1243 (10 November 1990)

 

Goldie – Little Dog Lost

Emma, , ,

Plot

In 1940 with her father lying in hospital injured after a German air-raid, Lindy Lewis is searching London for Goldie, her pet cocker spaniel, who has run away. Goldie is due to have pups any day. Lindy is living temporarily with Betty Tripp and her family. Betty’s sister, Mary, has lost the power of speech after an air-raid. Mary takes Lindy to a bomb site where she saw a stray spaniel. With the help of Rags, a mongrel Lindy has befriended, she recovers a spaniel puppy from a hide-out under some debris.

goldie1

Notes:

Appeared:

  • Goldie – Little Dog Lost – Emma: #54 (3 March 1979) – #64 (12 May 1979)

Air-Raid Annie

Judy, ,

Plot:

During the Second World  War, ten-year-old Annie Williams lived with her family in Kent. She discovered she had a sixth sense that gave her warning of the approach of enemy bombers. Mr Clarke, a top Civil Defence official, came from London to arrange a test of Annie’s powers. Annie forecast that three German bombers would arrive over Monstable one night, but the raid didn’t happen. At school next day, she sat puzzling over what had gone wrong with her forecast.

air raid annie

Notes:

Appeared:

  • Air-Raid Annie –  Judy: #307 (27 November 1965)  – #313 (08 January 1966)
  • Reprinted – Judy:  #934 (03 December 1977) – #940 (14 January 1978)

The Witch’s Brats

Judy, ,

Plot:

At the outbreak of the Second World War, Jean Smith and Betty Clark were evacuated along with other children to Witchett End. Jean and Betty were billeted in a rambling old house, the home of a strange old widow, Mrs Meggs, whom the villagers held in awe. When a magpie, whom Mrs Meggs called ‘Jack’, stole Jean’s hair-clip, they, too, wondered if they were surrounded by magic and suspected Mrs Meggs was a witch.

witchs brats

Notes:

  • Art: Bert Hill

Appeared:

  • The Witch’s Brats  – Judy:  #915 (23 July 1977) – #926 (08 October 1977)