Pauline Barclay : Yesterday Uncovered - WW1 with Flowers of Flanders by Ros Rendle

This month on Yesterday Uncovered we slip back to WW1 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the end of the Great War

During November there will be two authors talking about their books set in this period and one very special guest.

Sitting, in the shade, on a recliner at the side of my pool is Ros Rendle, the author of, Flowers of Flanders, so please help yourself to a glass of chilled bubbly, a plate of tapas, then make yourself comfortable and enjoy slipping back to the time of WW1

Tell us a little about yourself

Hello, and thanks for this opportunity. I was a head teacher, and used to writing policy documents, essays and reports as well as short stories to which young children enjoyed listening. Now I enjoy the much more challenging task of writing contemporary and historical fiction for adults. After early retirement, we went to live in France. We were there for eleven years before returning to live in the UK. In both my contemporary and historical novels France and its inhabitants was a great source of inspiration.

What inspired you to write about and around WW1?

We lived in the north of France surrounded by the battlefield sites and cemeteries associated with WW1. As members of the Royal British Legion we were often invited to ceremonies and re-burials associated with this. These are fascinating and moving occasions, especially when relatives of the deceased are traced through DNA and research by the War Graves Commission.

Tell us a little about the story and its plots without giving too much away

This is the first in a series; three sisters and three times of major 20th century conflicts. Subsequent books are Delphi’s Dilemma (a novella), ‘Flowers of Resistance’ (WW2), and I’m currently writing ‘Flowers that Shattered Stones’ (Cold War).

‘Flowers of Flanders’ is set between 1912 and 1916. Rose rivals her beautiful and mercurial sister for Michael’s love but calculated lies and misunderstandings alter all their young lives. War breaks and Michael is as eager as others to go. This is a story of deceit and loyalties, complex relationships and loves developing from youth to adulthood during a cataclysmic time in history.

Does a man need grace and serenity to rediscover his own, or is it frivolity and seduction he craves when he has been through the darkest places of war? Which sister does Michael need to survive?

Is any part of the story based on fact/ real events?

The setting of much of the story is real, and events detailed of the training of recruits in the Manchester area are also based upon factual accounts. Anecdotes and details of the battles are based on written letters and soldiers’ remembrances as well as other writings of the time.

Are any of the characters based on someone or are they pure fiction?

The image on the front cover is that of my granny and she was certainly the inspiration for the story. However, it is not her history but has come from my imagination. My grandfather was at the battle of the Somme, but again this is not his story either. He had a tiny ‘fumsup’ good luck figure (see image). These were given to soldiers to keep them safe and were also called a ‘touchwud’. The arms are articulated and touch the wooden bead head. Wings on the ankles are to speed the return of the loved one and a small engraving, on the head, of a four-leaved clover are also for added luck. Now, I have a collection of more than forty of these, all individual in design.

If research was necessary, what did this involve?

I did masses of research. Having visited the National Records Office at Kew, I looked at war diaries of the time. My grandad is mentioned by name, so we were able to visit the site of the battle for July 1^st 1916 (the first day of the Somme). We walked within ten metres of where he was, over one hundred years before.

I found several books of first-hand accounts of soldiers who were there, as well as letters written at the time. The internet is invaluable for discovering the minutiae of the daily lives of Edwardian middle classes. What people ate, how they dressed, what food was cooked at the front, when the name of Manchester’s railway station changed are all critical for authenticity. It’s not just the big events about which we’ve nearly all read but the small daily elements. Meticulous research is of vital importance to me.