Rounders
Memoirs of a London Evacuee in World War II
by
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Driving at a steady pace, the van was almost back at Mrs. Kepner’s office when the Rabbi called for quiet. Moments later he pulled up in front of the building and switched off the ignition. He listened to a low, droning sound and glanced upwards through the side window, and said “We have a problem here. I want all of you to do exactly as I tell you.” That said, the Rabbi released the door catch, looked outside and went on, “When I say go, don’t wait a moment, but run to that deep ditch across the street as fast as your feet can carry you.” He then said “Go,” and they all dashed across the street. “Duck down”, he told the children, and they did. An airplane flew over them and Dora looked up and saw that it had the German Cross on the wings. It was very loud and in utter amazement, Dora said “My goodness, it’s a German plane, what’s it doing here?” As she spoke, the plane swooped down over the railroad tracks across from the ditch. Everyone again ducked down automatically, as they could hear the plane begin to machinegun a waiting train.
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About the Book
Rounders is a look inside life in England during the Blitz bombing campaign of London in 1940 by Nazi Germany, as told through the eyes of a ten-year old schoolgirl evacuated to the English countryside. Now, many years later, Dora recalls with great detail those days and the full range of emotions the young girl expericnced seperated from her family and forced outside the only world she had ever known in a heavily Jewish Section of London. Dora balances the challenges of living in a non-Jewish community while maintaining her Jewish identity, and keeps her fears of the worst back in London in check while she experiences a series of adventures, all while being rotated among five different families.
About the Author
Helen E. Ellias was born and raised in London, England, and married her husband, Percy, in the years following World War II. After moving to the United States in the 1950s, they settled in New Jersey where they raised their three children. Among Helen’s passions were family, genealogy, history, and reading. Helen built her personal library to over 500 books, and then began writing herself. In 2011, Helen passed away at age eighty-one. Her family honors her memory by carrying on her mission to share her stories with the world.