About My Book
As a child, I had a dream to one day write a book about my father’s experiences as a bomber pilot and prisoner of war during WWII. I knew he flew a Wellington and that he had ditched his burning aircraft in the Zuider Zee after an attack by German anti-aircraft fire. The crew survived but they were captured and interned in POW camps.
That was all I knew growing up. My dream was never realized. Even though I stood beside him at the cenotaph every November 11th, he never told me his stories. His time behind barbed wire was just too difficult for him to talk about. I didn’t push him. I thought we had lots of time. We didn’t. My father passed away in 1986.
With his WARTIME LOG in hand, I embarked on a personal quest to research and understand my late father and his plight as an allied prisoner of war. To do this, I interviewed Ex-Air Force POWs, joined museum boards, and travelled to Europe.
My interests expanded over the years. Photographs in his log book of women in uniform standing behind barbed wire intrigued me and led me down a path I did not expect. I discovered these women were among thousands of female members of the Polish Home Army that fought in the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. They had been captured and spent time in the transit camp located inside Stalag IVB. From here, I became fascinated with a secret collaboration between the Polish Home Army and the Jewish Fighting Organization — the Council to Aid the Jews. Codename Zegota.
The stories of these brave men and women are so incredible they inspired me to write a debut novel set in WWII. I’m an oil and gas lawyer turned historical fiction writer.
Thank you for stopping by. J.K.
