GUIDANCE FROM THE GREATEST

Sub-titled 'What the World War Two Generation can teach us about how we live our lives', the late Her Majesty the Queen once said: 'We will overcome it [and] I hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge, and those who come after us will say the Britons of this generation were as strong as any.' The coronavirus pandemic forced the great British people to dig to the very depths of their resolve. It was during this crisis, the gravest the country faced since WW2, that members of the Greatest Generation - Captain Tom Moore, Dame Vera Lynn, the Queen - proved vital reminders of the self-effacing stoicism required in times of emergency - to summon our Blitz Spirit and to Keep Calm and Carry On. 12 qualities including fellowship, courage, integrity, vitality, liberality, ingenuity, self-discipline, duty and humour, the book draws on personal interviews with over 200 WW2 veterans from SAS officers to London firewomen. In Marlow, Buckinghamshire, some local women opened the 'Cosy Corner Club', one of many such organisations to spring up across Britain. It was for mothers and children who had lost their homes in the London Blitz and acted as a happy meeting ground and gave a hearty welcome to any evacuee of whatever nationality, race or religion, especially to those who were feeling lonely and in need of simple, helpful friendship. In this way the books shows how we can improve our individual character and our collective approach to life. 193pp, paperback.