As Time Goes By

This memoir gives a thoughtful and detailed account of the eventful life of Kitty Freund from her early days in the First World War until the celebrationof her one hundred and sixth birthday. Born in Liverpool, from the age of eighteen months, she lived in Norwood Jewish Orphanage, in London winning a County Council Scholarship to Streatham Hill High School for Girls. Later she trained as a teacher. Kitty met Hans Freund, a Jewish refugee from Berlin, who in the Second World War enlisted with the allied forcesin North Africa. She joined Hans in South Africa, where they married and brought up their family. Kitty describes her early years in the Orphanage and her relationships with her family and friends. She recounts memories, both of the First and Second World War. Despite the challenge of the war years, Kitty never lost sight of her love of life and people. The book describes her life in South Africa at the time of the repressive Apartheid regime and her work training teachers across the colour bar. The author has seen many changes over her 106 years. Her ability to recall in vivid detail her life experiences help to make this a moving account of times gone by.