When Hilda Alberg was 11 years old, her life changed forever. In 1938, just before the start of the Second World War, she was separated from her family and sent to Cornwall for five years, where she endured some of the most traumatic times of her life.

Seven decades later, she has chronicled her experiences in a collection of autobiographical short stories, A Rendezvous of Memories (i2i Publishing), to ensure the memories of the war are never forgotten.

Mrs Alberg, 81, tells People: "Many people watch the television programme Who Do You Think You Are?, but why not just go back to this living generation? We might not be here for very long.

"Jewish people went through hell and back. There are still many of us evacuees here and everybody has a story to tell." Mrs Alberg, chair of JACS in Edgware, North London, was inspired by her late-husband Frank, who died almost three years ago. He had insisted for many years that she put pen to paper.

She also plans to visit Jewish schools to talk about her experiences. She has four grandchildren and lives in Edgware.