World's End
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Product Description
Book Description
A warm-hearted and moving memoir in the tradition of The Road to Nab End:
Product Description
World's End is the story of Donald Wheal¹s childhood in Chelsea's World's End at the height of the Second World War.
Not for him the privileged bohemian world of Chelsea a few hundred yards away. Descended from rural immigrants, ladies of the night and bare-knuckle fighters, Donald Wheal¹s upbringing took place amidst grimy factories and generating plants, illegal street bookmakers, dog tracks, tenements and street walkers who plied their trade in Piccadilly and Soho.
World's End is the story of how he and his family struggled free from this underclass. It is also an individual history of the Second World War, of a small boy¹s grappling with the bitter separation of evacuation, the return to an already battered London, the wonderland of bomb-damaged houses to play in, and the nights of terror as the Blitz returned.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Being a relative and near contemporary of Donald Wheal and, having shared many of his experiences of the World's End and wartime evacuation, I was transfixed by his narrative. It was warmly evocative, conjuring up local characters, buildings, sounds and smells of that unique environment. His description of the bombing of the Guiness flats moved me to anger and sadness as well as unutterable gratitude that my family survived that dreadful night. My memories differ from his in some respects (they would wouldn't they?) but that does not detract from my overall respect and admiration for this long overdue work.
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
I was born in the closest hospital to World's End and grew up nearby - several of my in-laws lived in Ashburnham Mansions and this book was a nostalgic delight for me as well as adding to my knowledge of the area's history. I loved it.
Format:Mass Market Paperback
A great book in every sense - A must read for anyone from the World's End Area (as I am) told in a style that anyone from the area will recognise and embrace.
Who knew about the original Cremorne Gardens? Not me for sure! Vicat, Bifron, Stadium, Meek and Dartrey were replaced by World's End Estate in all it's anonmitiy (Still a great place to grow up though) Heart rending in places, tragic in others - And yet something on every page to bring a smile to the lips. As much a coming of age tale as an history lesson - And running all the way through the "Lets get on with it" attitude that was still prevalent in SW10 until I left in the mid 80's...
...and weren't we all better for it !
Who knew about the original Cremorne Gardens? Not me for sure! Vicat, Bifron, Stadium, Meek and Dartrey were replaced by World's End Estate in all it's anonmitiy (Still a great place to grow up though) Heart rending in places, tragic in others - And yet something on every page to bring a smile to the lips. As much a coming of age tale as an history lesson - And running all the way through the "Lets get on with it" attitude that was still prevalent in SW10 until I left in the mid 80's...
...and weren't we all better for it !
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The story of an old school-mate.
For me a real nostalgia trip. Don wheal and I were contemporaries and good friends at Sloane School. A superb piece of social history - a brilliant book!
Published on 9 May 2010 by Safe Hands
Good seller and great book.
My Dad grew up in the World's End; 4 years younger than the author. He went to the same school: Ashburnham. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2009 by M. Blanchard
A Pleasant Way to Learn Some Hard Lessons
When a friend casually handed me his heavily dog-eared paperback and nonchalantly remarked I might like the work, I took notice. Read more
Published on 11 Sep 2008 by M. Moon
A real war story from the Home Front
This is the best book of memoirs/autobiography to come out for many a long year. As you read it, you BECOME that young lad from pre-Playstation Britain. Read more
Published on 4 Dec 2006 by J. H. Wallder
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