Reading Room
Reading Room

Welcome to our Reading Room, where you can enjoy extracts from some of the books published by Woodfield.

The short extracts included below are taken from just a few Woodfield titles but check back regularly, as new extracts are added from time to time.

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A family at war

In this extract from Granddad's Rainbow, Joan Blackburn sets the scene for her nostalgic account following the fortunes of various members of her family at home and abroad during World War II and the years that followed

A gruesome discovery

In this extract from Children of the Wave, John Godwin sets the scene for this historical murder mystery set in 18th Century Bristol at the time of the Slave Trade and the emergence of the anti-slavery movement

A remarkable character

Journalist Simon Hoggart shares some personal memories of Nicholas Goodhart in the preface to Goodhart: The Story of an Exceptional Man

A rookie journalist

In this extract from Ink In the Blood, Barrie Williams recalls his first job on a Shropshire regional newspaper in the early 1960s

Aggie's new floor

In this extract from Lollipops of Dust, Susan Read-Lobo describes the day she helped to make a new floor in the traditional Kalahari mud hut belonging to Aggie, her parents' housekeeper...

Arrested for spying

In this extract from Blitz Boy, Robert Trevor describes what happened when he and his young pals decided to sneak into an RAF airfield during the Battle of Britain.

Becoming a diver

In this extract from A Diver in the Dark, Sydney Knowles reveals the unlikely circumstances which led to his becoming a diver and of his first meeting with Lieutenant (later Commander) Lionel Crabb.

Hold the line please...

In this extract from Fairy Tales of an SAC, John McGregor reveals the advantages and otherwise of of befriending the female operators from the local telephone exchange...

Life in a tenement yard

In this extract from The Triangle Route, Errol Samuels describes what it was like to live in a Tenement Yard in Jamaica in the 1960s

Meeting my princess

In this extract from I Married a Princess, Thomas Soars recalls his fateful first meeting with his wife-to-be, which took place in Egypt during World War II when he was a serving officer in the Royal Navy.

Mersey reflections

These extracts from Liverpool Tales from the Mersey Mouth, are a good introduction to John Williams' evocative stories about his native city.

One Woman's War

biography - World War 2
Douglas Walker introduces his eccentric maiden aunt in the prologue to Aunt Alice's War

Taking the bait

In this extract from It Was Bill's Fault, Alf Sharpling describes how he was first tempted to try his hand at sea fishing

Welcome aboard!

In this extract from Very Unable Seaman, Richard Barr recalls his introduction to HMS Rampart and an unexpected new job