Beales Corner by Andy Frazier

 

Beales Corner tells a compelling story of a young man growing up through the second world war in Bewdley, a lovely town in the heart of the west midlands. Jim Randall joins up with the home guard and then befriends a local French soldier who is stationed at an academy nearby. Along with Jim’s trusty dog, Boots, their adventures include a trip into prohibited army dump, a flooded town and a crashed Messerschmitt plane, complete with German pilots.

The book actually follows two stories, that of old Jim during the war and of Tom, his grandson, who is staying in the town on holiday.  The old man persuades his grandson to write some of his old wartime stories into a book, claiming that his memory is starting to fade. Tom befriends a local lad and they go rowing on the river Severn but while they are out on the river Tom starts to see ghostly people on the river bank. When Tom’s annoying little sister joins them in Bewdley they head off for a trip on the old Severn Valley Steam Railway but again Tom sees things and people that he cannot explain.

Eventually, as the old mans tales unfold, Tom realises that some of his strange sightings interlock with some of the wartime stories. It becomes apparent that old Jim has a secret to hide, but it is not until he is invited to recite his stories at the local rowing club does the twist become revealed.

The end of the story is both thrilling and emotional and has already brought a tear to a few adult eyes!

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