Heroes on the Home Front by Annie Clarke, is the second in the Factory Girls series about times in the North East during the 2nd World War.

Despite the recent loss of her father, Sarah is settling well into her new role at the munitions factory working alongside her two 'marrers' Fran and Beth. Her blossoming romance with pitman Stan is a welcome distraction from the dangerous working conditions. But a shocking revelation is about to put everything on the line.

Meanwhile Fran is desperately missing her sweetheart Davey, who has been conscripted to work at Bletchley Park putting his facility with codes to good use. Beth is longing for someone too – and it’s not her husband on the front line.

Mrs Oborne and Bert carry on their love hate relationship, and give us all a laugh, and Massingham pit has its usual starring role, with the slag heap smouldering, the winding gear working, and the pitmen warming our hearts just by being there. And of course Amelia is as irritating as usual. Come and meet them all again.

As the factory girls face hardship on the home front, they will discover that the heroes they need are already by their side.

Girls on the Home Front by Annie Clarke, is the first in the Factory Girls series, and howay, is our Annie glad to be writing about this area, and these times in the North East. What times? Ah, pet, the 2nd World War.

Annie Clarke's roots are dug deep into the North East and she draws inspiration from her mother, who was born in a County Durham pit village during the 1st World War and went on to become a military nurse during the 2nd World War. Annie Clarke's mam, Annie Newsome, relayed the tough times of the depression, and the harsh environment of the war: the munitions girls she met, the miners she grew up alongside, the community which sustained them all. And here it is in Girls on the Home Front.

August 1941. As war sweeps across Britain and millions of men enlist to serve their country, it's up to the women to fight the battle on the home front.

Fran had thought she'd marry her miner sweetheart, Stan, and lead a settled life, or as settled as it gets when one's husband is a miner. But war changes things. Near her pit village girls are needed in a newly opened factory, one that pays well, one in which danger is high.

It is a munitions factory. Against her father's wishes, and with best friends Sarah and Beth, she signs up. It is dangerous work, but as they face the risks, the girls discover that their lives are only just beginning. They develop strengths they didn't know they had, supported by the community. On and on, they go, all of them, the mams, the pitmen fathers, the pitmen boyfriends, and most of all, the girls.

“ The bus rattled their bones and teeth, or so thought Fran, but her stomach was rattling enough with nerves anyway as they headed for the Ordnance Factory, which was so secret that it must have no name and never be talked about.

‘Spark Lane sounds about right,’ she murmured to her friend Sarah, sitting next to her.

Sarah muttered, ‘Well, our Davey should be good with codes, thinking of his crossword solving and setting.’

The bus slewed right around a corner, throwing them to the left. Sitting in front of them, Maisie, who had worked at the Factory for a while, braced herself and yelled, ‘Oy, oy, Bert, steady the buffs, lad.’

‘Lad, eh’ he called back. ‘Wish I were, pet.’

The seats were just wooden slats, and Fran felt the wheels hit every clod thrown from the tractor as the farmhands had roared from one field to another, ploughing while the weather lasted. In the distance she could just see the pitheads of the mines.

‘I’m right nervous,’ Sarah muttered.

Across the aisle, Beth, their other old schoolfriend gripped her hands together and said quietly, ‘Me an’ all, but we’ll know all about it any minute now.’

Fran peered ahead and there, in the distance were what looked like huge air-raid shelters covered in grass, and what seemed like hundreds of one story brick buildings. . . . ”

As the war continues, wedding bells are ringing for the factory girls.

Sarah is happily settling into married life with new husband Stan, whilst Fran is busy planning her upcoming wedding to sweetheart Davey, who is still conscripted to Bletchley Park. With limited resources, the girls must make do to create the perfect day.

Meanwhile Beth has other things on her mind. She hasn’t heard from her husband Bob since he returned to the navy, and she’s starting to fear the worst. And new friend Viola is still recovering from a nasty accident.

Annie Clarke says: I love a good wedding. Happy stressful, someone always misbehaves, and afterwards we laugh about it. Tears, tantrums and hope? Yes indeed.

October 1942

As Christmas approaches, the evacuees decide a pantomime is just what the village of Massingham needs.

Viola loves her new job away from the factory, and hopes that her romance with the handsome Ralph might have a happy ending. Meanwhile, married life is proving tough for Fran and Davey as they are forced apart by war work, and an unexpected arrival on Fran’s doorstep turns her world upside down.

Following Bob’s shock confession, Beth finally feels as though she’s regaining control of her life. That is, until he returns from the navy determined to win her back.

And all the while the children are planning and rehearsing for the pantomime.

Annie Clarke says: It was the best fun ever to come up with crazy and funny lines for these fabulous evacuees. I laughed and laughed, and wished I’d been a star. I positively LIVED each wonderful second. I think in my heart this book is dedicated to children everywhere, who somehow just get on with living and laughing, even when chaos reigns around them, and keep the rest of us going.