Generations pay tribute to wartime memories in When I Was 12, new children's book by Katrina Roe

As the community gathers to commemorate our diggers on Saturday November 11, author Katrina Roe is launching When I Was 12, a book detailing the wartime memories of her father Nick Hutchins.

Growing up in the UK, Nick was just six when his dad left home to fight in World War II.

But he became the last line of defence at Dunkirk and was captured, remaining a prisoner of war until he was liberated by the Americans in Germany in 1945.

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Ms Roe said the book idea came about on Anzac Day about nine years ago.

"I went to the Anzac Day march with my father when he was 81 and at that point I came to the realisation that anyone younger than him wouldn't remember the war, while not many of those older than him are still with us," she said.

"So I realised it would be important to capture his memories."

Ms Roe said her father's "entire childhood was under the shadow of war" and that the book was about his growing up without his dad and trying to be brave in challenging circumstances.

"He was six when the war began and 12 when it ended... and I came to the realisation just how big an influence it had on my father's life," she said.

Ms Roe said while she never met her grandfather, she had heard much about him, but she was surprised at what she found out when she read his prisoner of war diaries.

"I thought it would be interesting to give children a glimpse of what it meant to be a prisoner of war," she said.

Now, Ms Roe has recorded an audio book featuring the voices of four generations of her family.

While the book is aimed at boys aged 11 to 12, she said the book is open to children and adults of all ages.

At just 28 minutes long, she believes an audio book will also assist "reluctant readers" who wouldn't normally want to sit down to read a book.

The book will be officially launched at 3.30pm on Saturday at St Paul's Anglican Church in Turvey Park.

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