I'm sure the history and events of the Second World War are well known to most of us; we've read numerous textbooks and watched various documentaries. The tales of many evacuees seem familiar and somewhat similar, until you read a personal tale such as this one, vividly narrated, by Barbara Warlow Davies.Quite different from most evacuees, Barbara came from Liverpool to Talgarreg initially to visit her brother who was an evacuee in the Cardiganshire village. However, when the time had come for her and her father to return, she insisted on staying and therefore spent her childhood days at Pantglas farm. Life certainly was quite different in Liverpool. As a toddler, Barbara had already experienced the Blitz of May 1941 and had had to be rescued from an explosion which killed 164 people at her school. During her early life she also experienced the death of her young mother. As she records in this book, she was extremely fortunate to have been able to live with John and Rachel Davies in rural west Wales.

Barbara's experiences at Talgarreg are both emotional and comical. Evacuee also portrays how a rural community coped with the atrocities and effects of the war. Old customs and farming habits are brought alive as Barbara remembers her childhood days at Pantglas. The war, of course, brought many tragedies and much hardship, but Barbara was able to enjoy her early Welsh life extensively. Within no time of arriving at Talgarreg she became a fluent Welsh speaker. It may be interesting to note that she first published her memoirs in Welsh, and she has spent many an evening sharing her experiences with various groups around Wales. We all think we're familiar with tales from the Second World War, but reading a personal record like this one gives us another perspective on the war and broadens our knowledge, as well as offering us a glimpse of a way of life which has almost disappeared completely.