Billy's War

The date was Thursday 8 May 1941. Billy Frecknall was nine years old, and the country was at war. What could that mean to a nine-year-old? A great deal, not least being the fact that Billy to all intents and purposes no longer had a Dad, because his father had enlisted in the army in the early days of the war, and they didn't even know where he was.

Read more

That night saw the biggest air raid Billy's home town of Nottingham had experienced, and there were many casualties, including Billy's Mum. Billy survived, but finding his Dad became even more urgent than before. His quest leads him into many adventures and a great deal of danger, but his courage never falters.

Billy is a cheerful, intelligent, resourceful boy who has the gift of winning the hearts of most people he encounters - he will probably win yours too!

Audience
adult

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

Liked Billy's War? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Billy's War. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Shepherd Avenue Shares fiction, historical fiction
  2. The Castoff Children Shares historical fiction, fiction
  3. After the War Is Over Shares historical fiction, fiction
  4. The Starchild Compact

“People who read Billy's War tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Passage West
  2. Dark Lands: Requiem
  3. Embrace of the Enemy
  4. The Highwayman

“If you want more of the same (historical fiction about war), start with these.”

  1. Guernsey: Rachel's Story
  2. The Girl on the Beach
  3. Secrets of the Singer Girls
  4. My Sweet Valentine

“Readers describe these the same way.”

  1. Farundell
  2. Victory Garden
  3. The Dark Secret of Josephine
  4. Remembrance Day

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Growing up in a war
  2. The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq
  3. Soldier's Heart: Being the Story of the Enlistment and Due Service of the Boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers
  4. The Blue Last