Fay Phillips was born in Gilly in Belgium in 1932. After the German invasion of Belgium, Fay recalls her family's escape to France in a little van as part of a large movement of refugees, then later being sent back to Belgium, where she had to be hidden by the Resistance and moved around to several different places, including an unhappy time in an orphanage.

After the war, Fay spent time in London working as a nurse, and eventually settled there working for local government when she married Len and had two children, David and Ruth. After many years, they moved to Whitefield in Manchester to be near their grandchildren.

Fay's book is part of the My Voice book collection, a stand-alone project of The Fed, the leading Jewish social care charity in Manchester, dedicated to preserving the life stories of Holocaust survivors and refugees from Nazi persecution who settled in the UK. The oral history, which is recorded and transcribed, captures their entire lives from before, during and after the war years. The books are written in the words of the survivor so that future generations can always hear their voice. The My Voice book collection is a valuable resource for Holocaust awareness and education.