The Celestials

Eric Roberts was born in Burton on Trent in 1918. Rejected by his biological parents, his father having been gassed in 1918, he was brought up by his aunt, Lilian Degg. In 1938, Eric met Eunice Lowe, an affluent farmer’s daughter and, despite their different backgrounds, they became engaged in 1940. Eric’s war and captivity and Eunice’s battle for information are the subjects of this book. Fortunate to survive, Eric returned home and married Eunice in 1946. He returned to his pre-war employer, the Burton Timber Merchant J. B. Kinds, eventually becoming Managing Director. Eric and Eunice had two children and five grandchildren. Eunice died in 1980 and, following Eric’s death in 2001, his memoir was discovered along with Eunice’s letters, diaries and scrap books.

Their grandson, Ian Roberts, has put together this superb first-hand account of a determined and courageous couple’s wartime experiences.