Royal Station Master’s Daughters in Love

Ellee Seymour

THE historic railway station at Wolferton in Norfolk takes centre stage again in the third and final book of a fascinating First World War debut saga series from journalist and PR professional Ellee Seymour.

Wolferton Station – now in private hands – opened in 1862 and was the nearest station to Sandringham House. Trains continued to bring the royal family to and from their estate right up until the station’s closure in 1969.

Seymour’s (pictured below) delightful series was inspired by the Saward family, who ran the station in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and her stories gives readers a glimpse into all walks of life during this period... from top-tier royalty to the humblest of soldiers.

In the final chapter of Seymour’s emotion-packed series, we are swept back into the lives of the Saward family in 1919 and discover that although war is over, the effects of it are ever-present in the village of Wolferton. At just two miles from Sandringham House, the private residence of British monarchs, the people of Wolferton have a special connection to the royals... particularly the family of the royal station master, Harry Saward.

But their privileged position and access to the royal family do not lessen the devastating impact of war on the Saward girls. Maria’s fiancé Eddie is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, and Ada’s husband Alfie has lost his job, and his purpose in life. Jessie, meanwhile, is praying for the safe return of her beau Jack, and Beatrice is hard at work as a nurse in the war hospital and is faced with a shocking revelation from her sweetheart.

With many men from the Sandringham Company still missing in Gallipoli, the village is also suffering and when Kitty Willow, the wife of one of the missing men, and her six young children lose their home on the royal estate, the Saward family rally round to help. As the Willow family are forced into the workhouse and Kitty is separated from her children, life looks bleak. But when a kind benefactor takes a shine to Kitty, her fortunes may have turned around. Could this be the new start in life that she and her children so desperately need?

Seymour’s knowledge of this area’s history and her friendship with the current station master at Wolferton – Harry Saward’s great-grandson Brian Heath – brings an added poignancy to a story which explores the devastation caused to the local community by the disastrous Gallipoli campaign in 1915 which led to the deaths of many local men and royal estate workers serving with the Sandringham Company.

Also taking centre stage in this final visit to Wolferton are once again the women on the home front who pulled through the traumas and tragedies, adversity and poverty of the war years with outstanding resilience, particularly as the agony of many families was prolonged because the bodies of their loved ones who died in Gallipoli were not discovered until 1919. Packed with gripping drama, love and loss, a cast of colourful characters, and with a delicious Lavender Cupcakes recipe to tickle the tastebuds, this is a fitting final curtain for a series that has touched the hearts of all saga fans.
(Zaffre, paperback, £10.99)