Coming Home - Facts

 

The novel starts in 1935. Judith and her family live in a village near Penzance in Cornwall. Penzance is the westernmost major town in Cornwall and is about 103 km west-southwest of Plymouth and 410 km west-southwest of London. 

Judith was born in Colombo, Ceylon, where his father was working. Colombo is the capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. 

Judith's mother and her sister Jess are to move back to Colombo and leave Judith in England. Before they leave, they spend Christmas in Plymouth with Aunt Biddy. Plymouth is a port city in Devon. It’s known for its maritime heritage and historic Barbican district with narrow, cobbled streets.

When Judith and her family are on their way back to Cornwall, she watches the scenery and mentions the Tamar Bridge as the border between Devon and Cornwall. The Tamar Bridge is a suspension bridge over the River Tamar between Saltash, Cornwall and Plymouth, Devon.

Phyllis's family are from St Just, in Cornwall. 

Judith's incident with Bill Fawcett happens when she is watching the film "Top Hat". Top Hat is a 1935 American musical comedy film, in which Fred Astaire plays an American tap dancer named Jerry Travers, who arrives in London to star in a show produced by Horace Hardwick (Edward Everett Horton). He meets and attempts to impress Dale Tremont (Ginger Rogers) to win her affection.

Judith reads a magazine about Hitler Youth. The Hitler Youth was the youth wing of the German Nazi Party. From 1936 until 1945, it was the sole official boys' youth organisation in Germany and it was partially a paramilitary organisation. It was composed of the Hitler Youth proper for male youths aged 14 to 18, and the German Youngsters in the Hitler Youth for younger boys aged 10 to 14.

Judith's parents and sister live in Singapore after he was transferred there. Singapore is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. 

In 1938 Germany occupies Austria. In March 1938, Nazi Germany annexed Austria in an event known as the Anschluss. German troops marched into Austria on March 12, unopposed by the Austrian military. This annexation was met with widespread support from the Austrian population, and a referendum was later held, although it was manipulated to show overwhelming approval for the union with Germany. 

After Plymouth, Bob and Biddy buy a house near Dartmoor. Dartmoor is an upland area in southern Devon. The moorland and surrounding land has been protected by National Park status since 1951. 

The closest town was Bovey Tracey. Bovey Tracey is a town  in Devon. It is located on the edge of Dartmoor, which gives rise to the slogan used on the town's boundary signs: The Gateway to the Moor. 

One of the cars that the Carey-Lewises have is a shooting-brake. Shooting-brakeis a term describing a car body style which originated in the 1890s as a horse-drawn wagon for transporting shooting parties along with their equipment and game. The vehicles themselves were manufactured in the early 1900s in the United Kingdom by vehicle manufacturers or coachbuilders.

Gus had wanted to see Cornwall since he found a picture by Laura Knight in a magazine. Dame Laura Knight  (4 August 1877 – 7 July 1970) was an English artist who worked in oils, watercolours, etching, engraving and drypoint. In her long career, Knight was among the most successful and popular painters in Britain. 

In 1939 Britain declares war on Germany. Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939, following Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1st. The declaration was made by Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain in a radio broadcast to the British public.

Just before the declaration of war, Uncle Bob is stationed in Scapa Flow, where his son also is. Scapa Flow is a body of water in the Orkney Islands, sheltered by the islands of Mainland, Graemsay, Burray,South Ronaldsay and Hoy. Its sheltered waters have played an important role in travel, trade and conflict throughout the centuries. It was the United Kingdom's chief naval base during the First and Second World wars, but the facility was closed in 1956.

The ship which was torpedoed and where Ned was is Roal Oak. HMS Royal Oak was one of five Revenge-class battleships built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. On 14 October 1939, Royal Oak was anchored at Scapa Flow in Orkney, when she was torpedoed by the German submarine U-47. Of Royal Oak's complement of 1,234 men and boys, 835 were killed that night or died later of their wounds.

The novel also makes mention of the evacuation at Dunkirk. The Dunkirk evacuation, also known as Operation Dynamo, was a large-scale military operation during World War II to evacuate Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbor of Dunkirk, France, between May 26 and June 4, 1940. Facing a rapid German advance, over 338,000 British and French troops were rescued by a fleet of naval vessels and civilian boats, despite intense aerial bombardment. 

After Edward's death, Judith joins the Women's Royal Naval Service. The Women's Royal Naval Service ( popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the beginning of the Second World War, remaining active until integrated into the Royal Navy in 1993. 

She is stationed in Whale Island near Portsmouth. Whale Island is a small island in Portsmouth Harbour, close by Portsea Island. It is home to HMS Excellent, the oldest shore training establishment within the Royal Navy, and the location of the Navy Command Headquarters.

Judith is very worried about the Japanese occupation of Singapore. In World War II, Singapore, a British colony and strategic stronghold, fell to Japan on February 15, 1942, after a swift and decisive campaign. The fall of Singapore, considered an "impregnable fortress," was a major blow to the British Empire and a significant victory for Japan in the Pacific theater. 

In 1945 the war in Europe is over. World War II in Europe officially ended on May 8, 1945, with the unconditional surrender of Germany to the Allied forces. This day is known as Victory in Europe Day, or V-E Day. While celebrations erupted across Europe and the world, the war continued in the Pacific until Japan's surrender in August 1945. 

In 1945 Judith is stationed in Trimcomalee, Ceylon. Trincomalee is a port city on the northeast coast of Sri Lanka. 

Judith hears about the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the radio. On 6 and 9 August 1945, the United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively, during World War II. The aerial bombings killed between 150,000 and 246,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the only uses of nuclear weapons in an armed conflict. Japan announced its surrender to the Allies on 15 August, six days after the bombing of Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan and invasion of Manchuria. The Japanese government signed an instrument of surrender on 2 September, ending the war.

Judith learns that her father died of dysentery in Changi. Changi was a significant location during World War II, primarily known as the site of a major prisoner-of-war camp in Singapore. It housed thousands of Allied prisoners, particularly Australians and British soldiers captured after the fall of Singapore, and also included civilian internees. The camp, which was initially overcrowded, became a symbol of both hardship and resilience for those held there. 

Judith and other wrens welcome a ship with prisoners of war from the Burma Railway. The Burma-Thailand Railway, also known as the Death Railway, was a 415-kilometer railway constructed during World War II by the Japanese Empire, utilizing forced labor from Allied prisoners of war and Asian civilians. The railway aimed to connect Thailand and Burma, facilitating the movement of troops and supplies. The brutal conditions and high death toll of the project have made it a powerful symbol of suffering and endurance.