EILEEN LAYS A GHOST TO REST

Eileen has returned to the site of a concentration camp where she worked as a translator following the end of World War Two. The notorious Fort Breendonk, situated near Antwerp, was captured by the Nazis during their invasion of Belgium; re-purposed into a prison camp for political prisoners, resistance members and Jews, the site witnessed innumerable tortures and executions until its liberation by Allied forces in 1944.

Eileen was in Belgium to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the death of dambuster Guy Gibson, and hadn't originally intended to revisit Breendonk. Her reluctance is understandable. Not long after VE day, Eileen was drafted to unearth, and to explain to RAF officers, the extent of the atrocities carried out in the camp; on top of the horrors related to her, which included human waterwheels and boiling-water showers, she also had to contend with the Belgian collaborators then imprisoned there.

However, with the assistance of two RAF cadets, ultimately Eileen took the opportunity to, in her own words, 'lay a ghost to rest', and spent a day touring the memorial museum into which the camp has been converted. Though glad to have done so, Eileen described the trip as 'very sombre'. Much of what she recalls from her service remains: the blood-stained posts to which prisoners were tied prior to being shot, the gallows, the mud field in which prisoners were buried up to their neck.

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EILEEN PAYS HER RESPECTS

Eileen is to visit the grave of Guy Gibson, the leader of the Dambusters, to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of his death. Eileen was one of the radar operators to track the Dambusters' daring raid on three German reservoirs, and is also a resident of Gibson's hometown, Penarth.

Gibson was killed on 19th September 1944 while on a raid, and is buried in Seenbergen, Holland. A Dutch family that has tended his grave since his death is to be presented with a commemorative Welsh miner's lamp in thanks.

Eileen is traveling out with Penarth's '617 group', which helps former servicemen and women. In recognition of Allied food-drops in the region, they will deliver two hundred chocolate bars, donated by Penarth newsagent Snells, to local schoolchildren.

Eileen's time as a radar operator overseeing the Dambuster raids, the D-Day landings and the Battle of Britain, is recounted in her book One Woman's War, available from Candy Jar Books.

http://www.candy-jar.co.uk/books/onewomanswar.html

WAR HEROES' REUNION

Eileen Younghusband, author of One Woman’s War, joined eighty of her fellow veterans at Bletchley Park this week to mark the seventy-fifth anniversary of operations beginning at the site.  Now a museum, the code-breaking and intelligence operations conducted at the mansion are credited with shortening the Second World War by ‘two to four years’.

For many decades after the end of the war, employees of Bletchley Park were so tight-lipped about their top-secret work that Churchill labelled them ‘the geese that laid the golden eggs and never cackled’. However, with a major new film on their operations soon to be released, recognition for, and interest in, the team that cracked the enigma cipher is at an all-time high.

Eileen herself joined the war effort when she was nineteen, in 1941, and served as a Filterer Officer on RAF bases across the country.  Her own story went untold for years, she, like her colleagues,  having signed the Official Secrets Act; it is now available in One Woman’s War, an autobiography that is a testament to the invaluable work of the WAAF in the fight against fascism.

EILEEN DOWN THE BAY

With Barack Obama, half the world’s press, not to mention several warships in town, Eileen decided to escape the chaos of the NATO conference and hit the beach. Clear blue surf, white sands and not a soul to be seen as far as the eye could see…

Well, not exactly. Cardiff Bay Beach is the annual transformation of the heart of Cardiff Bay into a fairground/urban beach the summer. With the world’s eyes on the city, this year the beach’s opening was extended another week, and Eileen joined publishers Candy Jar to sign copies of her book.

CANDY JAR BOOK FESTIVAL

© Candy Jar 2014

On Thursday Eileen Younghusband BEM (August 14^th), author of One Woman’s War and Men I Have Known, dazzled the crowds indulging the secrets of the WW2 Filter Room, and shared her memories of how women helped to win the war. We had a big surprise for Eileen, when Britain’s Got Talent candidate Nathan Wyburn unveiled and presented his portrait of Eileen created from a collage of images.

EILEEN IMORTALISED

With a BEM and a People's Book Prize under her belt, Eileen is no stranger to awards. But today she received an honour with a difference: a portrait by Cardiff artist Nathan Wyburn. Nathan, who will be familiar to many from his run to the final of Britain's Got Talent, is famous for creating his work out of unconventional materials; think Simon Cowell painted with Marmite, or Fabio Capello with spaghetti bolognese. So it's hardly a surprise that he didn't depict Eileen with watercolours. Instead, Nathan used miniature WW2-related images  -- Churchill, Westminster, ration posters, rocket launches -- to recreate Eileen as she can be seen on the cover of One Woman's War.

Nathan presented Eileen with his work at the opening of his show Not That Kind of Art, which is to run until the end of September in The Old Library. Eileen was delighted with the work, describing Nathan as a 'great talent'.

 

CURTAIN UP

Eileen Younghusband’s One Woman’s War has been turned into a play for the first time! Two French school students took on the task and the curtain goes up today.

Eileen was thrilled to receive an email from Parisian students Isaure and Elvire who had chosen to base their school history project on One Woman’s War. The sixteen-year-olds felt Eileen’s book was an excellent resource for their presentation on Women in the RAF and contacted her with a few questions. Eileen has been in regular contact with the pair, one of whom is playing her in the assessed performance, and wishes them the best of luck with their upcoming exams.

EILEEN APPEARS ON EGGHEADS

Candy Jar author Eileen Younghusband had an exciting opportunity to take part in the BBC TV show 'Eggheads' recently. Taking on the Eggheads as part of a 'People's Book Prize' team, Eileen battled it out over a range of topics including her specialty, Food and Drink.

Eileen has to remain tight-lipped about the outcome until the show is broadcast, but in the meantime, here's a picture of her and the rest of the gang on the day of filming:

Eileen has authored two titles with Candy Jar Books: One Womans' War and Men I Have Known, which are available via the usual outlets as well as direct from Candy Jar.

www.candyjarbooks.co.uk

CANDY JAR BOOKS NOMINATED FOR THE PEOPLE'S BOOK PRIZE AGAIN

For the second year running, Candy Jar is in with a chance of winning The People’s Book Prize!

The winner is chosen solely by you the readers; the most significant judges of all. Founded by best-selling author Dame Beryl Bainbridge, it’s one of the only competitions to truly represent what the people want and enjoy – so we need your votes to showcase the amazing talent emerging from Candy Jar this year! Last year our very own book One Woman's War by Eileen Younghusband won the non-fiction category, and we are keen to score another win.

Three books in total have been nominated; previous winner Eileen Younghusband’s new book Men I Have Known is in the non-fiction category, New Stars For Old by Marc Read is in the fiction category and Beware of the Mirror Man by Benjamin Burford-Jones is in the children’s category.

The readers’ opinions are the only ones that matter, and if you enjoy the books, we would love your votes. 

Just simply go to the The People's Book Prize and register online to vote.