New novel creates an occupied West Sussex
Ash Before Oak – the new book by Felpham author John C Hall – continues his look at England under an imagined German occupation (selfpublished and available from Amazon at £7.99 paperback and £2.99 Kindle).
John, aged 68, said: “Ash Before Oak is my second book which continues the story of the residents of Watersham, in West Sussex in 1940, during World War Two.
“The novel follows the day-to-day activities of the small farming community and the English Resistance operating in its midst, under the German occupation of the south-east of England.
“This imagined history creates a story of a rural English community caught between trying to carry on with their everyday lives whilst at the same time resisting the forces of occupation. Living with the enemy tests the character of every individual and the community as a whole. Their daily lives are filled with love, betrayal, collaboration, resistance and death.
“Having been born and brought up in and around the villages of the South Downs and the West Sussex coastal plain, I have a great love and understanding of rural communities. As an adult, I have spent my career in agricultural and horticultural businesses and have a fascination for how these rural communities are affected by external circumstances: whether war, extreme weather conditions, and especially current issues such as our relationship with our European neighbours, and the recent COVID-19 lockdown, which had a direct and damaging effect on the agricultural and horticultural industries. Ultimately the often close-knit and resilient communities need to carry on with their work and lives, regardless of these challenging factors around them – and regardless of the era they’re living in.
“With this in mind, I have particularly wondered what might have happened had they been invaded and occupied during the Second World War. I don’t believe I’m the only person to ponder alternative histories and with increasing pressure on changing consumer behaviour around climate change and food miles, people are becoming more in tune with their communities and landscapes around them. The last few years have also seen memorable and important anniversaries for both WW1 and WW2 which undoubtedly have made most of us think about the ‘what if ’ and ‘how would I have coped’?’
“I had the idea for my entire story as far back as 2009, and although the structure of the story was very clear in my mind from the beginning; due to the pressure of work, it took me a number of years before I was able to write the full story. Ash Before
Oak was conceived about half-way through writing my first novel, Under the Yew Tree. I realised that there was another part of the story that needed telling about the residents and surroundings of Watersham, and so even at that early stage, I was thinking about the sequel.
“For the ongoing story, I recalled some of the stories my father told me when I was growing up, plus others I had heard since that kindled my interest, and the whole thing flowed… I know my father was in the Home Guard during World War Two, during which he carried out night patrols. But why did he have a machine gun under the bed? Was it really that bad? I started my research and discovered how close this country actually was to an invasion...”