Born in London, Serraillier was educated at Brighton College and took his degree at St Edmund Hall, Oxford. He became an English teacher and it was during this period that his first published work appeared, in the form of poetry for both adults and children. In 1946 his first children’s novel was published. It was followed by several more adventure stories of treasure and spies. His best known work, The Silver Sword has become a classic, bringing to life the story of four refugee children and their search for their parents in the chaos of Europe immediately after World War II. In the crowded camp, the men do what they can to stay warm. Few are strong enough to try to escape, but Joseph is determined. He is too ill during his first winter, and spends his time thinking of his family and his school, which the Nazis closed because someone reported that he had turned the picture of Hitler’s face to the wall. a village where abandoned and orphaned children could forget the misery of war, where their minds and bodies could be healed, and they could learn to live in peace. Here at last they would find a real home, with no fear of being driven out among strangers again. They would be educated in “mind, hand, and heart”. When they grew up, they would be able to meet the future with goodwill and courage (Serraillier p.173). In the chaos of World War II, Ruth, Edek and Bronia are separated from their parents, and left alone to fend for themselves, hiding from the Nazis in the ruins of their city. But when they meet orphan Jan, who treasures a paperknife in the shape of a silver sword that he was given by an escaped prisoner of war, it becomes a powerful symbol of hope. The children realise that the escapee was their father, and the silver sword a message that he is alive and searching for them. Together with Jan they begin a dangerous journey across Europe to the safety of Switzerland where they hope to reunite with their parents.

Although the characters in the book are fictitious, the story is based on fact. The names of the children came from records kept by the Red Cross. Though Serraillier did not fight in the war due to being a conscientious objector, he did a great deal of research into the military side of the story and also drew on his own observations. His description of Russia's Red Army marching into Poland is based on eyewitness accounts from a book entitled East Wind Over Prague, by J. Stransky. Jan brags that he saved them all and found Edek’s boat. He sailed them to it, but Edek had fainted; so, Jan pulled him out. Joseph affectionately tells Jan to eat his food, and Ruth hugs him tight. Once Ruth, Bronia, and Edek were reunited, they (in company with Jan) travelled by train to Berlin, intent on finding their parents. They arrived in the city during May 1945, shortly after the end of the Second World War in Europe and the death of Adolf Hitler. They stayed in a disused cinema, but Jan soon went missing in pursuit of an escaped chimpanzee, which had managed to flee from the zoo. Jan was able to befriend the chimpanzee and help it to be Published just eleven years after the end of the war, The Silver Sword was ahead of its time, and was used for both educational and recreational purposes. As a war text, it's not the most informative, but as a story about what it was like to be a child and survive, it's a veritable source of accuracy. I think it's a book that will be read for years to come, and although it's not one often mentioned, I don't think it'll ever be forgotten. Whilst in this passage Joseph defers to Jan’s knowledge and experience, the perception of children’s ages changes throughout the story, according to whether the story is being told from their perspective or through adult eyes. In an Alice-like process of shrinking, Jan’s presence is diminished once more when viewed through the eyes of a British soldier: “A boy stepped out of the crowd, one of the thousands of urchins that lived?about in the ruins here – about eleven or twelve years old, I should say, but you can never tell with these kids, they’re so undernourished” (1956, p.83). Philip Nel’s observation, that “The precarity of displacement amplifies the vulnerabilities inherent to childhood, making young people feel their liminality more acutely” accurately describes the situation faced by the young protagonists of The Silver Sword, in which the naturally blurred boundaries between childhood and adulthood are problematised by the need to act and behave with maturity beyond their years ( 2018, p.359). This juxtaposition is particularly jarring in the portrayal of Ruth. Here she is described by an army officer: “She’s a remarkable girl, quiet and self-assured, with the most striking eyes – they have a deep serenity, a sense of purpose and moral authority quite unmistakable. No wonder they look up to her as a mother, and a leader, too” (1956, p.86).

This story of a courageous group of Polish children whose lives are torn apart by war is a true modern classic. Ian Seraillier's moving account of the hardships the children and endure, and the self-knowledge and maturity they gain through their ordeal will speak to young readers as powerfully now as it did on its publication in 1956. With so many facets to the role, it would have been understandable had the Serrailliers bowed to pressure and been less exacting about some of their choices for the list. However, their crystal-clear vision of what was and wasn’t a New Windmill book was matched only by their absolute focus on the audience for whom they were catering. It was not straightforward. Not only did the Serrailliers have to keep in mind the differences between a reader at the bottom end of their age range (11 years old) and at the top (16 years old) and the progress between the two, but also the adult gatekeepers of this material: the teachers. With school budgets tight (it was ever thus), teachers had to be sure that the books they chose were right for their students. The element of trust was vital to the success of an educational list: one wrong choice would potentially dissuade teachers from putting their faith – and their precious funds – in a list, no matter how appealing their catalogue might be. If you meet Ruth or Edek or Bronia, you must tell them I'm going to Switzerland to find their mother. Tell them to follow as soon as they can Having lost their parents in the chaos of war, Ruth, Edek and Bronia are left alone to fend for themselves and hide from the Nazis amid the rubble and ruins of their city. They meet a ragged orphan boy, Jan, who treasures a paperknife - a silver sword - which was entrusted to him by an escaped prisoner of war. The three children realise that the escapee was their father, the silver sword a message that he is alive and searching for them. Together with Jan they begin a dangerous journey across the battlefields of Europe to find their parents. About This Edition ISBN:

Shortly after Joseph was taken to the prison camp, German soldiers had broken into the family house and taken his wife away, after the Germans had called for 1 million foreign workers to be taken to their country for the war effort. Edek had fired shots at the van in a bid to stop them from getting away. Ruth had admonished Edek for his foolishness and decided that they had to escape to avoid being captured or killed, so the children climbed along the rooftops of the adjacent houses and watched from a distance as their house was blown up by the Nazis.

Joseph learns from a neighbour that the Nazis had captured his wife and taken her away to work on the land, and then returned to set the house on fire after someone had fired gunshots at them from an upstairs room. The children had not been seen since, and were feared to have died in the fire, although Joseph is still hopeful that they might be alive somewhere, as their bodies were not found. Although the novel was published in 1956, it remains a very exciting adventure for young readers and I highly recommend it. Four child refugees hide out in Warsaw at the end of the WW2. When it is finally over they set out on a journey across Poland and Germany to Switzerland, where they hope to meet their father, who escaped from a Nazi prisoner of war camp earlier on in the war. Classic children's story shown over thirteen episodes concerning the Hensman brothers, Robin, John and Harold, who spend eight months living as outlaws in the forest of Brendon Chase.