The real story

Stories are slippery creatures. They evolve as they are passed down and shared. People’s memories recall different details and each speaker adds their own embellishments. But essentially, Don’t Look Back is the true story of my family’s escape from Czechoslovakia. Peggy and Ladislav are my grandma and grandpa, and Anthony is my dad.

The biggest inaccuracy is that Anthony was nine-months-old when they made their escape, but I thought a little boy would be more appealing to young readers than a baby. Despite sounding like a fairy tale, a lot of the other details are true – from coming face to face with a stag to asking for help from the woodcutters. In fact, my family believe the young woodcutter was arrested for his part in their escape.

I deliberately kept the place and time generic, as this is not just their story. According to the European Commission, 110 million people around the world have been forced to flee their homes because it is not safe for them to stay there, and over 36 million of these displaced people are refugees. They share the same desperation as my grandparents and risk their lives to reach a better place. That’s why I’m donating 50p to The Refugee Council for every copy of Don’t Look Back sold.

Ladislav Imrich Perl (1910-2002) was born in Topoľčianky, Czechoslovakia. After starting a law degree at Comenius University in Bratislava, he swapped his studies for the army.

When Germany invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939, Ladislav escaped into Poland to join the Czech Legion there. He was captured by the Red Army and held in prisoner of war camps for several months. Following his release, he fought the Nazis in France where his gallantry was recognised by the award of the Czech War Cross – the first of three he earnt during the Second World War.

After the fall of France in 1940, Ladislav was evacuated with the bulk of the Czech Army to England. He was stationed in the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle in Cheshire. On a short break to Lytham St Annes he met Margaret “Peggy” McDonough (1907-1988) from Middlesbrough.

Peggy and Ladislav married in 1945 and moved to Moravská Třebová in Czechoslovakia. By then Ladislav was a Lt. Colonel. Their first child, Anthony Ladislav Perl, was born in October 1948.

Despite Ladislav’s good job and their comfortable lifestyle, things became increasingly difficult for the family. The country was under Communist rule with Soviet backing, and spying had become part of daily life. Ladislav was disliked for being Jewish, and the fact he had married a devout Catholic British woman made things even worse. In addition, he had displayed resistance to the teachings of the Communist Party. Ladislav was tipped off by a fellow army officer that things would get very bad for him if he didn’t get away.

The escape

One day in July 1949 they left their home forever. Ladislav forged a document authorising him to use an official car. They lied to their maid, whom they believed to be a spy, and said they were taking Anthony to see a doctor in a town some way away. They packed a small bag with only baby essentials, Ladislav’s medals and his army revolver loaded with three bullets. They agreed that if they were caught Ladislav would shoot Peggy, then Anthony, then himself.

After keeping their cool through many checkpoints, they dumped the car at the edge of a dense pine forest that stretches across the Czech/German border. From what we understand, their time in the forest was as I describe in the book. They got lost and were forced to stop for the night, terrified that they would be discovered by border patrol. When they saw the woodcutters, they were desperate and had to take the risk of asking for their help.

When they emerged from the forest they were spotted by German workers in the neighbouring field. They confirmed that the stream marked the border and kindly hurried them to safety.

Once the authorities had confirmed their story Peggy and Anthony were allowed to return to Middlesbrough fairly quickly. Ladislav, however, had to stay in a displaced person’s camp for weeks or possibly months before he was granted permission to join his family.

Peggy and Ladislav went on to have two more children: Nicholas in 1950 and Julia in 1952.