Thank you very much, everyone, your replies have been very helpful. I think I was surprised to find out that my mother told someone else, albeit a close friend, but had never told me. I can think of a few reasons for this, all of them quite reasonable, but will redouble my efforts to get her to talk about this period of her life. I think it's important I explain this is very important to me to know and understand my family's history before the opportunity is lost. What she has told me in the past was fascinating and has made me realise that no matter how bad things are right now, it doesn't compare in any way to what she and millions of others experienced during the war.