One of the most rewarding aspects of researching and writing the biography of a person who is still living, is getting to know people he loved but are who no longer with us. After three years of interviewing Joe I am now writing up the story of how he met his wife Jean. I have been able to learn about her parents and siblings and have now found some lovely photos to complement the words. Jean died just over ten years ago after nearly sixty years of marriage. Joe still misses her very much. The photo shows Jean in the ATS at Bramley Camp in Hampshire during WW2 where she was a Ammunitions Examiner. Jean is top left. What an attractive group of young women……
Amazing Coincidence: Günter’s Chemistry Teacher
Quite by chance I found a book online the other day – a memoir covering the little Gloucestershire town of Lydney during WW2, the very place Joe (as Günter Stern) spent three years from 1940 – at the evacuated Yardley Grammar School from Birmingham. It is … Continue reading Amazing Coincidence: Günter’s Chemistry Teacher
Maryhill Barracks, Glasgow
I found this wonderful story about Clement Freud when researching Maryhill Barracks in Glasgow yesterday. Joe was sent there for further combat training after he joined the Royal Warwickshires during WW2. Apparently at one time Clement Freud was called up to join the Royal Highland Infantry at Maryhill. The story, from the Scottish Herald dated 4th June 2013, goes like this:
Thousands of soldiers passed through Maryhill Barracks over the years, not only in wartime but during national service. Broadcaster and author Clement Freud, grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, told the story of reporting for duty at Maryhill Barracks accompanied by a chap whose name was read out after Freud’s as “Jung”. Thinking of the other eminent psychotherapist Carl Jung, Clement cheerily told him that was the most amazing coincidence, the two of them arriving at the same time. His fellow recruit listened to him impassively before eventually saying: “My name’s actually Young.”
Welcome to Escaping Hitler: A Jewish Boy’s Quest for Freedom and his Future
I am delighted to announce that my debut book, the official biography of Norwich resident and past Sheriff, Joe Stirling, will be published by Pen and Sword Books in January 2016. Follow my journey as I continue to research and write Joe’s remarkable story of courage and determination. As a German Jew in the Rhineland, young Gunter Stern at fourteen, decided he could wait no longer for his Kindertransport ticket to arrive; he had to get away if he was to survive beyond his teens. One night he left a note for his mother and set off on foot across through four countries…..
Escaping Hitler: A Jewish Boy's Quest for Freedom and his Future 