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‘WASHING and POLISHING for FREEDOM’ combines biography with comprehensive historical fact to create a compelling portrait of the life and fortune of one couple throughout World War II. The book tells the story of Bill Powell who enlists in the Royal Army Service Corps (R.A.S.C.) Territorial Army (T.A.) in 1938 when he is 19 years old. While stationed at Ewell Barracks a year later Bill meets and immediately falls in love with Gladys Elliston. Bill and Gladys build a relationship and a marriage during one of the most tumultuous periods in the 20th century.
One of the book’s main strengths is its emphasis upon the relationship between the two main characters in the context of major political and historical upheaval. The use of Bill and later Gladys’ letters to achieve this is especially effective in adding emotional weight, as the reader sees the characters’ worlds and lives described in their own words. This also helps provide a fresh and engaging perspective on the historical events described in the book.
Outside of the use of the letters, the focus on the minutiae of Bill’s life contrasted with the matter-of-fact description of surrounding events creates a compelling contrast and helps engage the reader. When eventually Bill is sent to fight his letters continue to Gladys, writing about his love for her, his thoughts on the war and his hope for peace and his future - ‘a soldier in love, war and peace’.
