A Song for Will and The Lost Gardens of Heligan

'Everyone has extra jobs to do at Heligan now, with so many away at war. So, as well as being the errand boy, I help in the Kitcehn Garden too. I got a bonus this week for catching four rats! I think of them as the enemy and lie in wait to capture them.'

When the First Word War is declared on 4th August 1914, Alfie, the errand boy, is diappointed that he is too young to sign up alongside his Heligan friends. His envy soon turns to despair as he begins to understand the brutal reality of war. 

During the four year conflict, Alfie's exchange of letters with stonemason, Frend Paynter, and the visits home to Cornwall of gardener, William Guy, paint a poignant picutre of both life at the front and of the ever-changing seasons at heligan. Reading the letters in this peaceful corner of England, Alfie realises just how different his life could have been. 

Drawing on facts from the historical records of The Lost Gardens of Heligan, A Song for Will is a beautiful story of longing, loss and ultimately, of home.