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WORK TITLE: Escaping Hitler
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Norwich, England
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
https://escapinghitler.com/about/ * http://www.biographers.club/scrivens-phyllida/ * https://www.linkedin.com/in/phyllidascrivens/?ppe=1
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Open University, B.A., 2012; University of East Anglia, M.A., 2014.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Norfolk County Council, secretary of children’s services, 2003-05; University of East Anglia, head of schools secretary, 2005-10; Swan House Bed and Breakfast, proprietor, 2012-14; freelance biographer, 2014-.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Phyllida Scrivens is a writer and biographer living in Norfolk, England. Her debut book is the 2016 Escaping Hitler: A Jewish Boy’s Quest for Freedom and His Future, about the life of Joe Stirling, born Günter Stern, who escaped Nazi Germany twice and lived in England since the 1940s. Scrivens worked at the Norfolk County Council in children’s services and was head of schools secretary for University of East Anglia before becoming a freelance biographer. She is the former Farnham Town Manager, and published a weekly biographical interview feature called “Meeting People.” Scrivens tours and lectures about her book and Stirling’s story. She holds a B.A. in literature from the Open University and an M.A. in biography from the University of East Anglia.
Scrivens’ Escaping Hitler covers ninety years of the extraordinary story of Jewish teenager Günter Stern. He had a happy childhood until the Kristallnacht in November 1938. That’s when his parents decided to leave Germany, but then his father was arrested and sent to Dachau. At the age of fourteen, Stern escaped his village of Nickenich in the German Rhineland, traveled by bus to Luxembourg, walked alone for a week, and crossed into Holland. However a problem with his visa got him sent back to Germany. Eventually he was put in the Kindertransport out of Cologne in July 1939, just before the war started. He made his way to England, where he learned English and Welsh. The last he heard of his parents was in 1942 in a letter saying they were being transported to Poland. He later learned they had died in the Holocaust.
In 1944, Stern moved to Norfolk, England, changed his name to Joe Stirling, and joined the British Army, working in the Army Education Corps. In 1975 he opened his own pioneering travel company, and later became a leader of the Lions Club International and Sheriff of Norwich. According to a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “Stirling’s story is an inspiring example of a valiant professional life fashioned out of loss and tragedy, but the book is, overall, unexceptional.”
Scrivens interviewed Stirling and his friends and family to tell his story. She also traveled to his birthplace in Germany to speak with school friends and traveled the route he took to leave Germany. In a review online at Surrey & Hants News, a writer noted “Scrivens tells this epic story in clear, precise prose, never missing a beat as the drama unfolds. She allows the facts—as remarkable as they are—to speak for themselves without cluttering the text with hyperbole. This could not have been easy, given the abundance of riches available to our first-time author.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, October 15, 2016, review of Escaping Hitler.
ONLINE
Biographers’ Club, http://www.biographers.club/ (September 1, 2017), author profile.
Surrey & Hants News, http://www.surreyandhantsnews.com/ (April 5, 2016), review of Escaping Hitler.*
Phyllida Scrivens
Biographer, Freelance writer & public speaker
Freelance University of East Anglia
Norwich, United Kingdom 40 40 connections
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My debut biography Escaping Hitler: A Jewish Boy's Quest for Freedom and His Future, was published by Pen and Sword Books in January 2016. On 10 January 2017 the book published and distributed in the U.S. by Skyhorse Publishing of New York. The book covers 90 years and traces the remarkable life of Joe Stirling, Norwich resident, Kindertransport refugee and former Sheriff of Norwich.
In May 2016 I took the book to Germany, giving two public presentations in Koblenz and Joe's home village of Nickenich.
I am available for talks and literary festivals.
My second book 'My Lady Lord Mayor: The Sixteen Women Lord Mayors of Norwich 1923-2016' will be published by Pen and Sword Books in February 2018.
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Experience
Freelance
Biography
Company NameFreelance
Dates EmployedJul 2014 – Present Employment Duration3 yrs 2 mos
Swan House Bed and Breakfast
Proprietor
Company NameSwan House Bed and Breakfast
Dates EmployedJan 2012 – Aug 2014 Employment Duration2 yrs 8 mos
LocationThorpe St Andrew, Norwich, Norfolk, UK
Swan House Bed and Breakfast offers unique riverside accommodation for visitors to the Norwich and Norfolk Broads area. One luxury double bedroom with modern en suite shower, view over the picturesque and peaceful River Yare, a good old fashioned breakfast using local produce and just a short distance from the historic city centre.
University of East Anglia
Head of Schools Secretary
Company NameUniversity of East Anglia
Dates EmployedMay 2005 – May 2010 Employment Duration5 yrs 1 mo
Administrative services to three senior academics and supervising a team of two junior secretaries.
Norfolk County Council
Secretary Children's Services
Company NameNorfolk County Council
Dates EmployedSep 2003 – May 2005 Employment Duration1 yr 9 mos
LocationNorwich, United Kingdom
PA to Senior Executive
Education
University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
Degree Name Master's degree Field Of Study Non fiction Creative Writing and Biography Grade Merit
Dates attended or expected graduation 2012 – 2014
The Open University
The Open University
Degree Name BA (Hons) Literature Field Of Study Literature with Creative Writing Grade 2:1 Hons
Dates attended or expected graduation 2005 – 2012
The Broxbourne School
The Broxbourne School
Dates attended or expected graduation 1971 – 1973
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Scrivens, Phyllida
scrivens_phyllidaPhyllida Scrivens lives in Norwich, Norfolk. Since 2011, she has achieved both a BA in Literature from the Open University and an MA in Biography at the University of East Anglia. Her debut biography, Escaping Hitler: A Jewish Boy’s Quest for Freedom and His Future, was published by Pen and Sword Books in January 2016 and concerns 91-year-old Norwich resident Joe Stirling, a Kindertransport refugee whose destiny was to become the Sheriff of Norwich. Phyllida continues to speak to groups on her research, including two by invitation in Germany during May 2016. In January 2017 Skyhorse Publishing of New York will present Escaping Hitler to the American market. Pen and Sword have also signed Phyllida for a second book, My Lady Lord Mayor: The 16 Women Lord Mayors of Norwich 1923-2016, with projected publication at end 2017.
About Phyllida Scrivens
DU9A6757b_EDIT_Desat_MedPhyllida lives in Norfolk, within staggering distance of the City of Norwich and a short drive to the beautiful Broads. She wakes to the beat of swan’s wings and can see the moon’s reflection in the River Yare directly below her bathroom window. Having now completed a ‘mature’ MA in Biography and Creative Non-Fiction at the renowned University of East Anglia, she is proud to have achieved a life-long ambition – a publishing contract with a proper publisher – in this case, Pen and Sword Books. Her subject for her debut biography is the extraordinary Joe Stirling, born Günter Stern, who escaped Nazi Germany twice, learnt Welsh and English within two years, passed his Highers, joined the British Army, moved to Norfolk, opened his own pioneering travel company and in 1975 was honoured with the position of Sheriff of Norwich. A tale told in engaging narrative, entwining real stories with fascinating research. The book was published by Pen and Sword on 5th January 2016 and is now available on line from Amazon, Pen and Sword, in Norwich bookshops or direct from the author. The official launch will take place in Jarrold Department Store in the centre of Norwich on Thursday 4th February 2016 from 6pm. A lecture tour is well under way with booked dates up to January 2017, including Lydney in Gloucestershire and in Germany and share Joe’s inspiring story and to promote her book.
Contact details: Phyllida Scrivens
7 St Lucia Court
38 Yarmouth Road
Norwich NR7 0EQ
phyllida.scrivens@icloud.com
Scrivens, Phyllida: ESCAPING HITLER
Kirkus Reviews. (Oct. 15, 2016):
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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Scrivens, Phyllida ESCAPING HITLER Skyhorse Publishing (Adult Nonfiction) $24.99 1, 10 ISBN: 978-1-5107-0865-5
The brave plight of a young German Jewish refugee to England and his fruitful contribution to postwar British life.Having met "Joe Stirling" as part of a "Human Book" library project at the University of East Anglia, Scrivens became intrigued by the story of this native of the Rhineland whose parents died in the Holocaust. Born Gunter Stern in 1924, the boy had a fairly happy youth growing up until 1933, when he became aware that a crisis was looming with the advent of a new chancellor, Adolf Hitler. The family's decision to leave Germany after Kristallnacht in November 1938, when his father was arrested for the sole reason of being a Jew and incarcerated at Dachau for weeks, came too late, but they were determined to get their son onboard the Kindertransport out of Cologne in July 1939, just before the outbreak of war. After arriving in England, Stern lived with a guardian family in Wales, and then in Yardley and in Lydney, with the Allsopp family, committed members of the local Labour Party. While Stern was attending school during wartime within this welcoming community, his parents sent a final word in early 1942 that they were going to be "resettled" in Poland; this was the last missive from them. Enlisting in the British army in May 1944, the young man was urged to change his name to something less German-sounding: hence, Joe Stirling. He was not posted to Germany but became an effective officer in the Army Education Corps. Now married with children, Stirling was mentored within the Labour Party and became a spirited activist. On a group trip to visit Germany in 1954, Stirling struck on the enterprising idea of starting a travel tour business. The second part of this workmanlike book, less interesting than the first, follows Stirling's long, successful career and leadership of the Lions Club International. Stirling's story is an inspiring example of a valiant professional life fashioned out of loss and tragedy, but the book is, overall, unexceptional.
Book review - 'Escaping Hitler; a Jewish Boy’s Quest for Freedom and His Future'
Tuesday, 5 April 2016 By Surrey and Hants News in Local People
Joe Stirling has lived a life less ordinary, and the former Farnham Town Manager, Phyllida Scrivens, could not have found a more remarkable subject for her first foray into the world of biography.
It was in the Farnham Herald that Mrs Scrivens – then Phyllida Adams – began her writing career with a weekly biographical interview feature called ‘Meeting People’. She went on to gain a Masters degree in Biography and Creative Non-Fiction from the University of East Anglia.
After marrying town councillor Victor Scrivens, the pair moved to Norwich, where Phyllida met Joe Stirling. Here, she very quickly decided, was a story that needed telling and, after a lengthy series of interviews, coupled with an emotive trip to Germany, ’Escaping Hitler; a Jewish Boy’s Quest for Freedom and His Future’ was born.
Joe, who is now in his 92nd year, was just 14 when the Nazis threatened his family, his education and, ultimately, his very future. Gunter Stern, as he then was, decided not to wait around for the inevitable to happen and opted to flee from his rural village in the German Rhineland.
His chances of escape would, he reasoned, be diminished if he waited for the war to start, but it meant a painful separation from his parents, who would perish in 1942 when the Nazis deported them to a death camp in Poland.
So it was that in July 1939, young Gunter boarded a bus that look him to the border with Luxembourg, where he secretly crossed a river and then walked alone for seven days through Belgium and Holland, always striving to stay one step ahead of the Nazis.
His aim was to catch a ferry to England and the precious liberty he would be denied in his homeland. But the outcome was not exactly as he planned it. A hitch over a visa necessary for him to enter Britain was just one of the problems encountered by this courageous young man.
It is an extraordinary story, with many highs and lows, before Gunter finds safety and begins his new life as Joe Stirling. There is time spent in Wales and Hampshire before he settles in Norwich.
This new life finds him heavily involved in local politics, running a successful travel company and, for many years, being a dedicated servant of Lions Clubs around the world. There are also major health issues to be confronted.
Then, from out of the blue, comes an invitation to become Sheriff of his beloved Norwich. From a Rhineland village to one of the highest honours an English city can bestow on one of its citizens; here, truly, is a lengthy tale of the unexpected.
Phyllida Scrivens tells this epic story in clear, precise prose, never missing a beat as the drama unfolds. She allows the facts – as remarkable as they are – to speak for themselves without cluttering the text with hyperbole. This could not have been easy, given the abundance of riches available to our first-time author.
Farnham’s former Town Manager can feel immensely proud of her first book. So what next? Whatever follows, I doubt she will find a subject quite so rich in memories, with a story that is crying out to be told. I hope I’m wrong, I hope Phyllida Scrivens is back soon, because she has proved herself equal to the challenge of delivering top-class biography.
’Escaping Hitler… is published by Pen and Sword Books Limited at £25.
PGT.’
Joe’s amazing journey
Lets Talk Magazine, Post on 30th March, 2016
Day after day our television screens are filled with harrowing images of refugees crossing Europe, desperately searching for a free and peaceful life. Almost 80 years ago one small boy called Gunter was doing just that. . . fleeing the Nazis. Derek James reports.
Refugees, migrants, asylum seekers. Call them what you will. Scenes of bedraggled men, women and children – victims of hatred and war – touch our hearts. It can be a cruel and wicked world.
Long lines of people walking the fields and roads or being pushed on and off trains, attempting to hang on to what is left of their belongings, are a pitiful sight.
What will become of them? How will their lives shape up? Who will accept them?
We don’t know, but I do know what happened to a small 14-year-old Jewish boy called Gunter Stern who was making his own dangerous journey across Europe in 1939. His story is a remarkable one which has now been turned into a fascinating book.
Phyllida Scrivens launches her new book 'Escaping Hitler', with 91-year-old Joe Stirling, who is the main subject of the book. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY
Phyllida Scrivens launches her new book ‘Escaping Hitler’, with 91-year-old Joe Stirling, who is the main subject of the book. Picture: DENISE BRADLEY
It is a glorious example of how a young refugee can come to this country and really make a difference, becoming a leading charity worker, a successful businessmen, a politician. . . and even a sheriff.
Oh yes, Gunter Stern became Joe Stirling of Norwich, a legend in his own lifetime. Now in his nineties his story is told in astonishing detail by author Phyllida Scrivens.
She spent several years talking to Joe, his family and friends, travelling to Germany, and researching his extraordinary journey through life.
She followed the route he took across Europe as a young boy when he made his dangerous bid for freedom, and she retraced the final steps of his parents before they were sent to a Nazi death camp.
While his family perished Gunter went on to serve in the Army and then, following the end of the war, he met and fell in love with Jean Skitmore, of Attleborough, and moved to Norfolk.
Joe became an agent for the Labour Party before setting his up his own tour company with offices in Norwich and Great Yarmouth, Stirling Travel, returning to his native Germany. . . this time with English holidaymakers.
But Joe was also a tireless charity worker, travelling the world as a leading member of the Lions Club and raising vast sums of money to help others in Norwich and Norfolk in various organisations.
He was elected Sheriff of Norwich in the 1970s and became one of the best known and best loved personalities in the city he called home.
And then. . .
Well, if you want to know more you should get the book.
Escaping Hitler: A Jewish Boy’s Quest For Freedom and His Future by Phyllida Scrivens is published by Pen & Sword at £25. It is in the shops and you can also buy it online from the publishers or Amazon. You can order signed copies from the author on phyllida.scrivens@icloud.com
The thoughts of Gunter Stern (Joe Stirling)
“I was eight years old when I became aware of some sort of crisis. There had been a general election in Germany and somebody called Hitler had won. It meant little to me but I did hear grown-ups talking. If you didn’t support Hitler then you were an enemy of Germany and he would fight the Communists and above all would fight the Jews. ‘The Jews?’ I asked, ‘but aren’t we Jews?’” Joe and Jean Stirling.
Joe and Jean Stirling.
“My father was taken to Dachau where he spent the bitterly cold winter with only thin cotton prison clothes and eating mainly cabbage water. A cruel regime was imposed which included frequent ‘security checks’, supposedly head counts, for which they had to parade, often in the middle of the night, sometimes standing for hours in freezing temperatures.”
“I was about three kilometres into Holland when a policeman on a bike overtook me. He looked back and stopped. I was scared because, of course, to me a policeman was a Nazi.”
Rhineland boy to Norfolk man
The foreword to the book is by leading politician Shirley Williams who writes:
“He was one of my agents in the 1953 Harwich Parliamentary by-election. As a 23-year-old candidate, I recall the excitement of convening with Joe two or three meetings a night, hurtling down muddy lanes in the dark, looking for small halls, each with its audience of a dozen or so.
“Joe mobilised a handful of supporters from a score of villages to come. The boy from the Rhineland had became a Norfolk man,” she says.
“The sensitivity of Mrs Scrivens’ account, her remarkable capacity to convey the significance of each small detail, make this biography of an outstanding British local politician, volunteer and businessmen special,” adds Mrs Williams.