Friends of Fulham Palace Host Talk by Author Vee Walker
Hear about the true story of her grandparents told in her novel Major Tom's War
The Friends of Fulham Palace say they are delighted to host a talk on Thursday 11 April, given by author Vee Walker, the great-great-niece of Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram, based upon the intriguing and true story of her grandparents Tom and Evie Winnington-Ingram, as told in her debut novel Major Tom’s War.
Vee’s great-great-uncle Arthur Foley Winnington-Ingram was the Bishop who saw London through the First World War and right up to the dawn of the second.
Vee’s grandmother Evie Winnington-Ingram was a frequent guest at Fulham Palace, as were the author’s mother and aunt, Penelope and Elizabeth Westmacott.
Her book weaves together four different perspectives on the First World War: those of Tom and Evie, of Lochdubh, Tom’s nemesis, and of Gaston Derome, the mayor of a small French town on the Belgian border. How these stories interconnect across five years of conflict is fascinating and the story is firmly rooted in Vee’s family archives.
Vee’s grandfather, the eponymous Tom, was born in India and fought as an Indian Army Cavalry Officer alongside Sikhs, Hindus and Muslims on the Western Front.
Reviews have already compared Major Tom’s War with Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth in its scope and Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient in style – but unusually, this is a war story with which comes close to having a happy ending!The talk will take place on Thursday 11 April from 6pm till 8pm. Tickets cost £10, or £8 for
Friends of Fulham Palace.
Tickets include a glass of wine and the opportunity to purchase a signed copy of Major Tom’s War.
Book tickets online here
April 3, 2019