WWII Lives is a new book club that focuses on the American Library’s collection of memoirs and biographies of veterans of WWII

Our aim is to increase awareness of the AML’s holdings and to offer attendees a unique opportunity to explore in depth the fascinating lives of some of the men and women with first-hand experience of WWII and ‘The Friendly Invasion.’ The group is open to everyone aged 12 and up, and we do hope you will join us.

The initial meeting in October 2026 will introduce the reading group, its format, the following meeting’s theme, and allow participants to select their books. To assist members on the day with choosing the biography that most interests them, information cards summarising primary subjects’ backgrounds and basic military details will be provided.

After the introductory event, the reading group will meet bi-monthly on the 2nd Saturday of the month from 11am-12.30pm in the American Library’s meeting room. At these meetings, we will discuss the month’s theme and highlights of the biography selected by each member, as well as choosing our books for the next meeting.

At the final group meeting of the year in June 2027, we will have a social gathering with refreshments, recorded music of the 1940s, a display of biographies, and items and ephemera from the AML archive. We will also premiere our brand-new information cards annotated by club members and a large print copy of all the WWII-related biographies in our holdings.

Our meetings in 2026-27:

· 10 October 2026 – Introductory event and initial book selection

· 14 November – Meeting #1

· 9 January 2027 – Meeting #2

· 13 March – Meeting #3

· 8 May – Meeting #4

· 12 June – Final gathering and exhibition of information sheets with added detail, archive items, ephemera, and a list of biographies held by AML

Description supplied by the event organiser.