Aunt Alice's war

the long version

"[In] 1940, war came to St. Anne's , a sleepy Lancashire seaside resort and [the author] and his brother spent several glorious childhood summers helping his eccentric maiden aunt fight the war on the home front. He was, he records, "eight going on none ... and Alice was 45 going on 12." When the call comes for the sons and daughters of England to protect their beloved island, public-spirited Alice willingly volunteers to do her bit for the war effort. She is appointed Air Raid Precautions (ARP) Warden for three of the town's genteel streets of Victorian villas and, dressed in a unique uniform of her own design, immediately sets out to organise the disoprganised and prepare the unprepared ... Told with warmth and tenderness, this ... memoir is a glorious tribute to English eccentricity and to the indomitable spirit that characterised Britain's civilian population during the wartime years. ..."--Back cover.