This book is based on a true account by two sister Patricia and Jean Owtram. They are believed to be the only living sisters to have signed the official secrets act. in the 1920's the family take in 2 Austrian jewish refugees and the sister become fluent in German. When the war breaks out in 1939 Patricaia joins the Wrens and supplies blotchily park with critical information. and Jean ends up in the secret life of coding . This amazing story of the sister's life is one of determination and courage and above all the fighting spirit people of that time showed in terrible times The book is well written and it felt as though the sisters were actually talking to me and telling me their story. Many thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review #netgalley #mirrorbooks

Patricia and Jean Owtram were only teenagers when the Second World War started, they lived at Newland Hall, five miles from Lancaster and the sisters had a typical English upper class childhood. Educated at home by a governess, they had a pony, the family went fishing in Scotland and as teenagers they attended boarding school. The family took in two Jewish Austrian refugees, Edith and Lilly and Patricia and Jean quickly became fluent in German and with a slight Austrian accent. When the war broke out in 1939, their father Gary Owtram was a major in the 137th Field Regiment, Royal Artillery, and his unit was sent to Singapore and he was taken prisoner by the Japanese. Patricia joined the Wrens, she signed the secret services act, and was sent to various remote locations along the British coastline. Patricia listened to German radio messages, quickly wrote them down and had no idea they were forwarded on to Bletchley Park and where the German Enigma code was cracked. Jean was two years younger than Patricia and once Jean turned eighteen she joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry. Jean's first posting was in Cairo and then Italy, where she helped the Partisan efforts against the Germans, and yet she was too young to celebrate the D-Day landing with an alcoholic beverage. Two sisters who couldn’t discuss what they did during the war, finally in the 1960’s they did and were able to honor their father’s wartime service in a fitting way. A true story about the vital work of young women during the Second World War, the responsibilities they took on as teenagers, and how they helped England achieve victory. This book was less than two hundred pages, I enjoyed every single one and I don't normally read biographies. Patricia and Jean Owtram’s experiences and maturity was truly inspirational, don’t forget their father was a prisoner of war at the time and they didn’t know his fate. Five stars from me, I highly recommend reading this amazing true story and it’s full of interesting facts and information about the Second World War.

Fascinating account about these brave sisters during WW2.

This book is written by two sisters, originally from Lancashire. They write one or two chapters each, and swap over. Some of their letters to each other, as well as to their mum are slotted in as well as the normal narrative. The Second World War broke out when they were kids. So, they were just teenagers when they started doing their bit for the war effort. The two young sisters are away doing their bit for King and country in WW2, not knowing whether their father is alive or dead. He's missing; they know he could die at any moment, or indeed, already be dead. I wasn't sure I was going to like it at first as there seemed endless 'darlings' and 'mummy darlings' in their letters-it seemed excessive and a kindle search told me darling and darlingest was used 74 times in the book! But I soon got over that as it became very interesting and informative. You get a combination of History and Travel in this memoir, and I enjoyed reading it. A very interesting account of their experiences.