photo © Harley Evans
What a pleasure it was to interview British author Janie Hampton. Her book How the Girl Guides Won the War was written in such a strong, unique voice and was so helpful in writing Lilac Girls, I had many questions for her. Though she’s terribly busy (about to embark on a speaking tour) she was kind enough to answer them all.
Janie, I loved your book How the Girl Guides Won the War. You were a Brownie growing up?
“I was a Brownie. Fifty years later, I can still remember my promise — ‘I promise to do my best, to do my duty to God and the Queen, to help other people every day, especially those at home.”
Photo © Tom Blau
You dedicated How the Girl Guides Won the War to your mother. How did she influence your writing life?
“My mother was a writer, and so too my elder sister. My father died when I was four, and my first memories are waking up to the clatter of a typewriter. My mother wrote 40 books, and died at 95 in the night after she completed the last. That’s what my family taught me about writing: just do it. It’s possible, but it’s hard work. I still find it difficult.”
You say in your book you began writing it as a satire on Guides and Brownies, but you ended up celebrating them. What changed your mind?
“The more stories I read, and the more former Brownies and Guides I met, the more I came to realise what an important part of twentieth-century history the Guide movement was. Much to my amazement, I saw that Guides had played a crucial part in feminist history and the women’s equality movement. Their achievements, though, have been largely overlooked, their influence for the most part unrecorded.”
How the Girl Guides Won the War is so well researched. Did you enjoy this part of the process?
“I do. Exploring archives, I stumbled across extraordinary stories. I discovered that from after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December 1941, an entire boarding school of British children was interned in eastern China along with Trappist monks, White Russian prostitutes, businessmen and Cuban jazz players. The morale of the girls and their teachers was greatly improved by their continuing as Brownies and Guides. I tracked down their Girl Guide leader, aged ninety-three and living in Seattle, and several of the girls, who told me how being Brownies had given them stability and normality during those four long years when they were separated from their parents. They led me to other Brownies who had been captured by pirates in the South China Seas in 1935, while on their way to school by ship.”
What was your favorite badge you earned?
“The best part about being a Guide was camping, making fires outside and cooking on them.”
For the commemoration of WWI you recreated an original Girl Guide uniform from that period?
“For the commemoration of WWI I made a 1915 Girl Guide uniform which I wore for speaking engagements. It was made from an old long navy skirt, and a Guide belt I found in a charity shop and added a knife and string. I cut the sleeves from a navy blue shirt of my husbands and turned them into pockets, then I dyed a summer hat blue and made a ‘Be prepared’ badge from a horse rosette. The scarf was made from some white cotton curtain I dyed blue and the woggle was made from an old boot lace – just as my Great Aunt Richenda did in 1915. Last I cut a 2 metre length of hazel from my hedge as a staff, and borrowed a whistle on a cord from my grandson.”
Janie Hampton. Photo © Daily Telegraph
How long did it take you to write How the Girl Guides Won the War?
“It took me about two years full time to write the book.”
How do you write?
You lead such a busy life. How do you find the time to write? Do you set aside a certain time each day?
“I write every day, it’s my full time job. Everything else has to fit round it – my work for Malawi, grandchildren, gardening, jam making and seeing friends. I hate getting up in the morning, so I usually start work in bed with a cup of coffee. I learned that trick from my favourite children’s writer Noel Streatfeild – she never got up before lunchtime, but had already done 5 hours work by then.”
How did the Girl Guides help in war time?
“The impact of the Guides in World War II is particularly clear. Their activities were not confined to Britain, but also included the Commonwealth, Nazi-occupied Europe and Japanese-occupied Asia. It was World War II that brought the philosophy of the Guides to the fore, and released their skills and training to the benefit of everyone around them. The military services soon realised that Guides with badges sewn on their sleeves had skills that were not only life-enhancing, but also life-saving.”
Photo © British Ceremonial Arts. Not for use on Facebook or Twitter.
You met Queen Elizabeth and talked about your work in Malawi? How was that experience?
“When I met Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace she seemed genuinely interested in my work in Malawi, where she had been herself. I was with a group of women from Africa and she was very friendly to us all. Her footmen served excellent champagne and delicious food – dolls-house sized shepherd’s pies and miniature slices of venison and chocolate truffles made from the royal bees’ honey.”
I love that on your website you say “My philosophy is to keep doing interesting things.” What is your next project?
“Recently I’ve been writing articles about Malawi, which is a beautiful place to visit with wonderful people. It’s too early to say yet what my next book will be – it is still brewing inside me!”
Find out more about Janie Hampton here: http://www.janiehampton.co.uk/
