Author: Keith Martin

Keith Martin is a retired Chartered Accountant. He suffered a heart attack at a table tennis match in 2004, since when every day has been an unexpected bonus. In 2011 he founded Chaville Press, which has since published thirteen books, all by local authors and artists.

“Barley, Bombs and Bagels” by Myrtle Russell

Keith MartinLiterature

In 2017, at the age of 91, Myrtle Russell’s book Barley, Bombs and Bagels was published by Chaville Press. Myrtle, a client with Age UK Barnet, received computer lessons from seventeen-year-old voluntary befriender Noah, which enabled her to write the book. As a memoir of a former land girl during World War Two, Barley, Bombs and Bagels, gives a key insight into life in London during the wartime.

We’re lucky enough to have the chance to hear from three people who were involved in the production of Barley, Bombs and Bagels: Keith Martin, founder of Chaville Press; Sian Jones, Befriending Manager at Age UK Barnet; and Myrtle Russell’s daughter Sheila Gewolb, whose thoughts act as the book’s foreword.