An amazing story of Rosie who was interned in France and escaped back to England, when only in her early twenties. It appears she lead a charmed life, managing to evade capture and staying on the run for over a year, meeting all kinds of interesting people, including Nancy Wake. ( )

The sobering account of Rosemary Say, known as Pat who found herself in France at the outbreak of the Second World War. The events are presented in a very matter of fact way, which has a genuine feel to it and as I read I wondered if I would have faired better given the situation? I suspect not.

Pat is a young girl in her early 20s who sets out to explore and meet others in a foreign country. That country is France and she is employed as an Au Pair to a family in Avignon.

Therefore as Europe heads into the turmoil of War, Pat finds herself in France, as the German troops invade. Pat is young, isolated and has very little money. She seeks assistance at the embassy in Paris only to find that the employees who could have helped have left and made their way back to England. She eventually finds some work within the cafe at the police station, but that is short lived and she is eventually interred in a camp.

The story continues to unravel the events that happened once in the camp, how Rosie copes with a loss of liberty and functional belongings such as a toothbrush. After a period of time, Rosie is determined to escape and with another internee she indeed does escape and makes her way, eventually across France into the region known as Free France, through to Spain and finally to home.

There was huge amounts of fear and uncertainty. Not just for Pat, but also for her family who had eventually managed to correspond with Pat through the help of the Red Cross. Once Pat is an escaped prisoner and effectively on the run in enemy territory, her parents are bewildered as to what had happened.

This was a remarkable story. Pieced together by archives and letters written and collated by Rosie's father, notes written by Rosie before she passed away and then by her son. ( )

This was quite a gripping true account of the escape from occupied France of a young English lady who serves as governess to some children in Avignon, but who fails to get out when war breaks out for various reasons. Told in a matter of fact style, but with some grim and genuinely chilling moments. 5/5 ( )

I find, I often really enjoy true stories of World War Two. For me they really bring home the realities of a time that I think is hard for us now in the 21st century to properly appreciate. We live in a world now, where everything is known in an instant, where travel is easier and faster than it has ever been. This book – and many like it – remind us of a time when people could go weeks without knowing whether their loved ones were ok, making a phone call or sending a telegram was an involved process and sometimes a costly one during the lean years of 1939 – 1945.

This book – which I think is only available in hardback or kindle edition at the moment – is a hugely readable and enjoyable book. A fairly quick and easy read it is a quite extraordinary story of courage and overcoming adversity. I found myself wondering time and again how I would have coped – as a young twenty two year old, trapped in a terrifying situation – I don’t think I would have done anything like as well as Rosamond (known as Pat) Say did.

Rosie – working in France as an Au Pair – realises in 1940 she has to get out of France fast – unfortunately she receives some poor advice – and finds herself in Paris just as the Germans arrive. She’s a young English woman alone and with little money in a city occupied by her country’s enemy. Around her are people living in fear, collaborators and Germans. After working in a police station for a short time, Rosie is interned as an enemy alien, and sent to a women’s camp. Here she endures horrendous conditions, poor food and sanitation, terrible cold, lice and overcrowding. Later she and the friends she has made are moved to the much nicer camp at Vittel, a camp used for German propaganda – conditions are better with less restrictions – Rosie begins to think of escape. How she escapes and what follows is an amazing mixture of good luck and bravery. Rosie and her friends were a remarkable group of people – and their stories are extremely well told.

Reading this on kindle – I had to wait until I came to the end to examine the pictures that are included – which I would have enjoyed being able to flick to whilst reading – but that is a small point – as at the moment the kindle edition is far cheaper than the hardback. I would certainly recommend this to people who enjoy true life stories from World War Two. ( )