As August drew to a close, Sylvia Heywood was still studying music in Dresden. Her train ticket to England was dated 3 September but in view of the latest developments, it seemed prudent to bring her journey forward a week. However, not expecting to be away for more than a fortnight (surely there would be another ‘Munich’), she left her two most precious treasures – her fur coat and her violin – in the safekeeping of her landlady. On 1 September German troops entered Poland; two days later Britain declared war on Germany.
