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Throughout history the English Channel and the weather have always protected Britain from invasion. Think of the storm which dispersed the Spanish Armada. Or the Protestant wind which wafted William of Orange to England at the time of the Glorious Revolution.
But of course this was in the days of wooden sailing ships. This surely would not apply in the more modern era of huge battleships and aircraft?
Wrong. The weather was as important in 1944 as at any other period in history. For the D-Day landings the weathermen had to find good weather at the right time, with the proper moon and the right tides. The planes and paratroopers required a full but late rising moon and later a low tide was needed to land the soldiers. And all this had to be accomplished within three days in June. But good weather was found -- and right after a great storm so the Allies were able to invade when the Nazis would have least expected them.
And how were the weathermen so successful? In this modified fantasy Steve McCoy Thompson has given his own very original explanation.
March 1944. Ten-year-old Frankie Brown lives on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with his mother and older sister Joan while their father is a paratrooper in England. Frankie and Joan quarrel over the radio programmes. Joan wants to listen to jazz while Frankie wants the weather forecast. The quarrel becomes physical and Frankie gets an electric shock. When he recovers he finds that he can forecast the weather. And, surprisingly enough, people believe him because his predictions come true. He is even able to forecast the weather for baseball matches.
The Army hear about this. Frankie is tested and then, with his mother and sister, taken to an army camp in England. There he works with metereologists and meets General Eisenhower himself.
As well as the central theme of the weather, this unique little book also contains much extra information about D-Day -- as well as war time England as Frankie's mother and sister spend a couple of days in London and shelter from an air-raid in the tube. Frankie also makes a parachute jump in tandem with his father. The story line is strengthened as Frankie's father goes missing after D-Day and Frankie becomes a Map Boy to find him. There are even hints of rights of passage as Frankie learns to rely on himself and not hide behind his Lone Ranger mask.
Ends with an older Frankie telling his grandson what happened later and how General Eisenhower became president.
A fascinating story which hightlights an aspect of D-Day which is often overlooked.
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