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Wartime Friends
It is 1940’s coastal Lincolnshire and Carolyn Holmes is keen to do what she can for the war effort. Raised on the family farm, she lost the fight with her mother, Lilian, to go to secretarial college after leaving the local grammar school although nothing is too good for her brother, Tom.
Phyllis Carter, a widow from the Great War, lives close by with her son, Peter, who works on the farm. Peter and Carolyn are great friends but do not see a future together, although it is the dearest wish of both Phyllis and Lilian to see them marry.
After being caught in an air raid over their home town, Peter decides to volunteer to the distress of his mother who makes life difficult for Carolyn as she blames her for not marrying Peter and keeping him safe at home. Carolyn leaves to join the ATS where she meets Beryl Morley who will become a lifelong friend.
After their basic training, Carolyn and Beryl are posted to Beaumanor Hall as ‘listeners’, the most difficult of signals intelligence gathering, intercepting enemy messages which are then sent to Bletchley Park for deciphering.
As the war unfolds and their work becomes even more vital, Carolyn and Beryl’s friendship strengthens and in the dangerous times that follow, they will both need the support of the other as they face personal troubles of their own and the lives of those they love are put at risk.
Phyllis Carter, a widow from the Great War, lives close by with her son, Peter, who works on the farm. Peter and Carolyn are great friends but do not see a future together, although it is the dearest wish of both Phyllis and Lilian to see them marry.
After being caught in an air raid over their home town, Peter decides to volunteer to the distress of his mother who makes life difficult for Carolyn as she blames her for not marrying Peter and keeping him safe at home. Carolyn leaves to join the ATS where she meets Beryl Morley who will become a lifelong friend.
After their basic training, Carolyn and Beryl are posted to Beaumanor Hall as ‘listeners’, the most difficult of signals intelligence gathering, intercepting enemy messages which are then sent to Bletchley Park for deciphering.
As the war unfolds and their work becomes even more vital, Carolyn and Beryl’s friendship strengthens and in the dangerous times that follow, they will both need the support of the other as they face personal troubles of their own and the lives of those they love are put at risk.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
432 pages, Paperback
Published July 28, 2022
39 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Margaret Dickinson
70 books180 followersBorn in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, Margaret Dickinson moved to the coast at the age of seven and so began her love for the sea and the Lincolnshire landscape. Her ambition to be a writer began early and she had her first novel published at the age of twenty-five. This was followed by many further titles including Plough the Furrow, Sow the Seed and Reap the Harvest, which make up her Lincolnshire Fleethaven Trilogy. She is also the author of Fairfield Hall, Jenny's War and The Clippie Girls. Margaret is a Sunday Times Top Ten bestseller.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 10, 2024
It is the late 1930s and Carolyn lives with her family just outside Skegness in Lincolnshire. An intelligent girl, she hoped to do more with her life and go to secretarial college but her mother feels that she should leave school, get a job & find a suitable man to marry. Of course, her mother has a spouse in mind for her! Peter lives nearby and is the only child of a mother widowed during WW1 – she understandably doesn’t want her son to join up (he works on a farm so would be exempt due to reserved occupation). Peter and Carolyn are great friends but do not have a romantic connection, much to the disappointment of their mothers who have been planning for years that they would marry.
After being caught in an air raid over their home town, Peter decides to volunteer for the armed forces – this distresses his mother who blames Carolyn for not marrying Peter and keeping him safe at home (even though Peter never actually proposed and they both agreed that they didn’t wish to marry!). Carolyn decides to follow in his footsteps and signs up to join the ATS.
During basic training she meets a group of girls including Beryl who will become her closest friend. Carolyn and Beryl join the intelligence section and are posted to a “Y Station” at Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire where they work as ‘listeners’, intercepting radio messages which are then sent to Station X (Bletchley Park) for deciphering. They know that their work is highly secretive, and as the war progresses, their work becomes even more vital, Carolyn and Beryl’s friendship strengthens and they come to rely on each other as they encounter various troubles and the lives of those they love are put at risk.
The characters are well defined, and I particularly liked “Mr Frank”, Carolyn’s grandfather, and Tom, Carolyn’s younger brother who is recruited to secret work as a teenager.
Overall, it’s a good storyline, with interesting characters and does everything that you’d expect from this type of Historical Fiction. If you know the Skegness and/or Leicestershire areas, you will enjoy it even more!
After being caught in an air raid over their home town, Peter decides to volunteer for the armed forces – this distresses his mother who blames Carolyn for not marrying Peter and keeping him safe at home (even though Peter never actually proposed and they both agreed that they didn’t wish to marry!). Carolyn decides to follow in his footsteps and signs up to join the ATS.
During basic training she meets a group of girls including Beryl who will become her closest friend. Carolyn and Beryl join the intelligence section and are posted to a “Y Station” at Beaumanor Hall in Leicestershire where they work as ‘listeners’, intercepting radio messages which are then sent to Station X (Bletchley Park) for deciphering. They know that their work is highly secretive, and as the war progresses, their work becomes even more vital, Carolyn and Beryl’s friendship strengthens and they come to rely on each other as they encounter various troubles and the lives of those they love are put at risk.
The characters are well defined, and I particularly liked “Mr Frank”, Carolyn’s grandfather, and Tom, Carolyn’s younger brother who is recruited to secret work as a teenager.
Overall, it’s a good storyline, with interesting characters and does everything that you’d expect from this type of Historical Fiction. If you know the Skegness and/or Leicestershire areas, you will enjoy it even more!
August 23, 2022
I think this is one of my favourite books atm. Carolyn and Peter have been friends since childhood their mothers want them to get married. Ww2 starts and they both join up. This story travels throughout the whole of the war and tells a true tale about life during those times. The only bit I didn't like was how horrible the mothers were to their daughters but I suppose that was true too.
August 30, 2022
What a heartwarming story of two young girls during the second world war. Their highs and lows and the trouble wartime brought to young men and women. A man in uniform could makes a girls heart beat faster but not all romance was as it seemed or should be. We have no idea what that war did to so many families with the heartache and sometimes joy.
August 4, 2023
A lovely read about 2 young women who become friends when they joined ATS in the start of the war and their lives and how they help to win the war both becoming Listeners using the skill of morse code in Leicestershire and the trials and
Danger that the family faced during these times and how much family meant to each one of them
Highly recommend this book
Danger that the family faced during these times and how much family meant to each one of them
Highly recommend this book
June 12, 2025
A lovely story which kept me interested throughout. Some lovely likeable and evil unlikeable characters which made the story all the more believable. The latter though was a bit of an issue with me as it was not clear if she really regretted her evil and spiteful ways or if it was just pretence. Nevertheless, it fully deserved four stars.
June 9, 2022
A good story, I did enjoy the characters are good. The Mothers in this era were horrible to their daughters and the sons the were the greatest. I found this disturbing at times. Overall worth reading 📚.
June 23, 2022
Another good read loved the characters in this book.
October 31, 2022
Brilliant
Brilliant as always. I love the fact I can relate to the area in which the book is set. Being a Lincolnshire lass.
Brilliant as always. I love the fact I can relate to the area in which the book is set. Being a Lincolnshire lass.
January 2, 2023
This was a great historical fiction World War Two book with characters that I liked.
January 14, 2023
Good read couldn't put this book down
February 15, 2023
Another great read by Margaret Dickinson, love her books.
April 8, 2023
Touching story, I can’t wait to read more of her books!
May 13, 2023
A really gripping novel with different sides of the characters and the outcome in the end.
March 21, 2024
A good book
April 1, 2024
Lovely war time story filled with love laughter and sadness good read on a cold night curled up in a blanket with a cuppa
September 22, 2024
this book was really good and I couldn't put it down
October 16, 2024
As always with Margaret Dickinson books, it was a very good read, a story based on two girls working together during ww 2 their family’s and friends and
The struggles they faced
The struggles they faced
February 19, 2025
Great storyline and characters
The storylines are brilliant with characters you feel you know. All the storylines are finished to the reader's enjoyment. A true wartime masterpiece
The storylines are brilliant with characters you feel you know. All the storylines are finished to the reader's enjoyment. A true wartime masterpiece
November 5, 2024
The book opens in October 1938 as Carolyn cycles along a road from her job in Woolworths in Skegness, a seaside town in Lincolnshire, England, just before the outbreak of war.
The book is gentle and meandering and pleasant, without very much bite or tension to it. It's a bit dated, in fact.
There are far better books about war time, England, particularly the amazing Kate Atkinsin's extraordinary books, but I didn't dislike it. A few generally known facts were weaved into the story about people going through the war, carrying on with spirit and themes of friendship and family ties.
I'd sum up by saying it's a bit mumsy, really . My mother - when in her eighties - would have enjoyed the book and considered some of the scenes as exciting, but they aren't - not at all. It's not challenging - just pleasant and undemanding of a reader, predictable as it plods sweetly along. I should have realised from the title how the book would be, and that's how it was. A bit bland - but not bad. For a different target audience, maybe.
The book is gentle and meandering and pleasant, without very much bite or tension to it. It's a bit dated, in fact.
There are far better books about war time, England, particularly the amazing Kate Atkinsin's extraordinary books, but I didn't dislike it. A few generally known facts were weaved into the story about people going through the war, carrying on with spirit and themes of friendship and family ties.
I'd sum up by saying it's a bit mumsy, really . My mother - when in her eighties - would have enjoyed the book and considered some of the scenes as exciting, but they aren't - not at all. It's not challenging - just pleasant and undemanding of a reader, predictable as it plods sweetly along. I should have realised from the title how the book would be, and that's how it was. A bit bland - but not bad. For a different target audience, maybe.
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews