“I listened to his stories about growing up, seeing planes fly overhead in the Battle of Britain.” Her own 1980s childhood was “old-fashioned — parts of the house still had their 1936 decor. No central heating. Everything was homegrown, we made our own entertainment… So when I researched 1940s childhood, it felt completely normal.”
She was “conscious that I’m not Jewish and I’ve no experience of persecution or having to leave home” and planned to write from the viewpoint of Molly, Anna’s English friend. But the book would not come alive until, “terrified”, she switched to Anna’s perspective.
“I was very aware of how many children now are having to go through similar experiences to Anna’s,” says Peters.
“The way they are presented in the media dehumanises them. Young people have a natural instinct to put themselves in someone else’s place but some people lose that. If you read somebody’s story, it is powerful in creating empathy.”
Anna at War is about courage and “the power of kindness” (Dutch women handing out food, sailors giving up their bunks to children…). “Something I wanted to convey is, you don’t know at the time but if you do a simple act of kindness, it can have an enormous impact.”
Anna at War is published by Nosy Crow (£6.99)
