Mary Rosie’s War
by
Catherine
M. Byrne
WW2 has been
declared. A strange find on the beach gives Mary Rosie the chance to fulfil her
dreams and contribute to her country, but all is not what she imagined.
After witnessing the first bomb to be dropped on mainland Britain,
Mary watches her friends leave to join the forces and longs to be with them,
but is held back by loyalty to her widowed mother.
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France has capitulated. Johnny Allan’s regiment has been annihilated
by German troops north of Paris. Johnny has to find a way to get home and to
the girl who no longer waits for him.
Leisel is a German Jew who lost her family to the Nazis and has to
make her way in Britain, a strange new country, while harbouring a desire for
revenge.
Their lives become entangled in a way that no one could have
envisaged.
A story about war, family ties, love, loyalty and loss.
Excerpt from Mary Rosie's War
Liesel is a German Jew, who, after losing her family to the Nazis, has escaped to Britain. Both she and her baby now live with another German/Jewish family, Renata and Walter Goldberg and their daughter Eva..
Less than a week later, as she lay on her narrow bed staring at the moon through the oblong window, her thoughts went once more to Gustav, the young man who was never far from her heart. She saw him on the deck of the warship gazing at that same moon, thinking of her. 
‘I’m safe, my love,’ she whispered, trying to reach him with her mind and heart. Once again she visualised them walking hand in hand along the banks of the Isar. Then they stopped walking and he bent forward and gently kissed her. She raised her fingers to her lips as she remembered the moment, the magic, the way her heart had soared and suddenly she was back in that time of innocence. She had been so happy, so much to look forward to. The sound of water, birds in the trees, the scent of spring in the air, their futures and dreams ahead of them. The biggest problem in her life had been how to tell her parents she was in love with a Christian.
The sudden, harsh screech of sirens tore the air and jolted her from her dreams. She leapt to her feet, pulled her coat over her nightdress and grabbed Gussy from his cot. She met Renata and Eva on the landing and together they hurried downstairs. Walter, a member of the Home Guard, was away on night duty. By the time she reached the ground floor and flung the door open, she could hear the drone of the bombers overhead, an eerie, unnerving sound.
‘It’s too late to reach the shelter.’ Renata shouted over the noise of whistling bombs and exploding buildings. ‘Under the staircase, quick.’
Liesel slammed the door on the hell outside. They huddled under the staircase where another family had already taken refuge. All of a sudden the whole building shook and pieces of masonry crashed around them. Liesel was pitched forward, still clinging to the screaming baby. Her head jarred against the concrete floor. Gussy’s screams abruptly stopped. In that moment she lost consciousness.
When she next opened her eyes it was to a throbbing pain in her head. She was lying on her back staring into the sky. As the dust cleared, she saw that most of the building around her had gone and the sky over the city had taken on a strange red glow. The colour seemed to rise and fall and it took her a while to realize that it was the reflection from fires blazing all around them. Overhead the searchlights were tracking one of the German bombers. Once they had it pinpointed, it looked like no more than a silver fly. How could a fly inflict such damage, she thought as the anti-aircraft guns burst into life. It wasn’t long before the sound of the German engines changed. The drone became a high pitched scream as a plane plunged downwards.
Liesel watched the swirling colour above her head and felt no pain. Then another piece of the building crashed towards her and she watched it as if in slow motion. It hit a mish-mash of beams to her right where it was arrested and balanced precariously. Dust and small bits of masonry fell, filling the air and cutting off her breath, as more of the building tumbled inwards entombing her. She tried to swallow, but her mouth was full of dust.
The house has gone, she thought. She felt the weight of Gussy on her breast and knew there was something important that she should do, but couldn’t fathom what. Then the weight had gone and someone stood above her surrounded by a bright light and in his arms he held her baby. At that moment she thought she recognised Gustav. She tried to speak, to say his name, but as she fought to hold onto consciousness, she slipped once more into nothingness.
The next time she woke it was to a white light. She tried to move her head but pain swept through it. Things gradually became clear and realisation crept in. She was in a hospital bed.
‘Gustav? My baby?’ she cried, but only a croak came from her dry throat. A nurse bent over her. ‘You’re awake. You’re safe now.’
‘Thank God you’re alright,’ came a voice she recognised. She carefully turned her head and Walter was sitting by the bed, his craggy face streaked with tears. He still wore the uniform of the Home Guard.
‘Mr Goldberg’s been here all night,’ the nurse told her. ‘I’ll leave you now.’
‘The others?’
‘There were a few survivors,’ his voice broke and he covered his face. ‘Renata and Eva…’ He spoke through his sobs.
‘And Gussy?’ Her heart seemed to swell painfully until she was sure it would explode.
‘I’m… sorry. He…he would have died instantly.’
At first she experienced disbelief. Gussy dead, no, it wasn’t possible. She’d seen him and he had been smiling up at his father. His father? She was dreaming. None of this was real. A wail began in her chest, but her throat closed on it and a cold pain claimed her. A pain so deep it defied an outward display of
grief. She turned her eyes and stared at the far wall. ‘Why are you lying?’ she whispered. ‘I saw them.’
The only answer was Walter’s big paw of a hand closing on her shoulder.
Several days later the rabbi and his wife came to collect her. She had not spoken since the devastating news of her son’s death. The Nazis had taken everything from her leaving her numb, her only emotion, a burning desire for revenge.
Born and brought up until the age of nine on the Island of
Stroma, she heard many stories from her grandparents about the island life of a
different generation. Her family moved to the mainland at a time when the
island was being depopulated, although it took another ten years before the
last family left.
An interest in
geology, history and her strong ties to island life have influenced her choice
of genre for her novels.
Since first attending the AGM of the Scottish Association of
Writers in 1999, Catherine has won several
prizes, commendations and has been short-listed both for short stories
and chapters of her novels. In 2009, she won second prize in the general novel
category for ‘Follow The Dove’
In 2016 The Road to
Nowhere won second prize in the
Barbara Hammond competition for Best Self Published novel. The follow up, Isa’s Daughter won 1st prize in the same competition the following year.
Although the books follow the fortunes of the same family,
they are all stand-alone.
The fifth book in the Raumsey series is Mary
Rosie’s War.
Catherine Byrne lives in Wick, Caithness.
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