Bryan Wiles on The Chocolate Suitcase
Can you tell us about Bronek and Anna – did they inspire the novel?
Although not materially wealthy or with much formal education, Bronek and Anna had an enviable sureness in the values that guided them through life. Rooted in the terrible experiences endured during the Second World War, where they lost everything, home, possessions, country, family members, these sustained them and made them such inspiring people to write about.
So it’s fair to say the characters came before the plot?
All of the main characters in the book are or were in-law relatives, so when I came to write about them their personalities were already clear in my mind. I had to imagine them at a younger age of course, and make sure when describing their exploits that they were true to the person that originally expressed them.
This is your debut novel, how long had it been in your mind to write about?
I married in 1983 and first heard snippets of the story around that time. They were always gripping, but it was only when Bronek and Anna’s nephew, Jaś came to visit in 1990 that I made a commitment to record the amazing stories being told. Jaś was living in Canada and had not visited the UK since 1950. I collected him from the airport and drove him to Anna and Bronek’s house. The meeting was emotional with much laughter and tears. Almost immediately, shared wartime experiences began to tumble from them, each story more incredible than the last.
I quickly realised that the emotional intensity of these memories could only be conveyed in a novel, where readers could identify with the participants. The Chocolate Suitcase gradually took shape over a period of more than twenty years.
How have Polish friends and family responded?
Brother-in-law, Zdziś, born in Siberia, but now living in Warrington, is eternally grateful for this family record and it has brought the family closer together. His son designed the book layout and my brother produced some wonderful sketches. It really is a family effort!
Jaś’s daughter supplied photographs and helped with publicity in Canada. She was thrilled when her local paper took up the story. This led a Polish/Canadian reader to share her history with me via a series of encouraging emails.
One of the most satisfying comments came from a Pole who said, ‘Bryan has written this book so that we don’t have to!’ and the most satisfying action came from a person of Polish ancestry who crossed the supermarket floor to shake me by the hand and thank me for putting his family history into context. I could never have imagined such a response when going through the lonely writing process.
The Polish experience during the Second World War is a terrible one. What was the experience of Siberia, and does this make it into the novel?
The Siberian experience is central to the first few chapters of the novel. We follow Bronek, his 19 year old pregnant wife Anna with their son, Bronek’s mother and his sister with Jaś, her 14 year old son, as the family are ethnically cleansed to Siberia. The 21 day journey in mid-winter is described in detail from first hand testimony. Anna, whose hair froze to the side of the cattle wagon in which they travelled, and had to be cut free, makes a memorable image. It was so cold when they arrived in Siberia that occasionally a bird would give up on life mid-flight and fall to the ground. Bronek’s mother and son were lost to frostbite and disease. Anna gave birth to a son. Then came ‘amnesty’, release from the labour camp and the train journey south to Samarkand.
Many Poles had to make the long arduous journey from Siberia west. Was this the case with Bronek and Anna, and does it feature in the novel?
The family spent many months toiling in the collective farms near Samarkand. Bronek’s resourcefulness was key to their survival. When the men were sent to Kermine to join the army, those left behind experienced even greater hardship. Only after army rations were released to the force’s families did life become manageable. Some weeks later all remaining family members crossed the Caspian Sea to safety in Pahlevi.
Bronek and Jaś soon separated, with Bronek travelling west to Bagdad and then to Palestine, while Jaś went south to the Persian Gulf and on to India and South Africa.
Bronek continued his training as a lorry driver even as he moved to Egypt, ready for transfer to Italy. He took part in the brutal Italian campaign, including the battle of Monte Cassino, serving in the same unit as Wojtek the soldier bear.
Jaś was only a few weeks in Cape Town before he made the long sea voyage to Scotland. In Dundee he trained to be a paratrooper. Then came Arnhem.
Polish war leaders knew that they could only expect the men to fight if their families were looked after. Anna, her son and her sister-in-law moved from Pahlevi, to a camp in Teheran, then to one in Ahwaz. They too sailed through the Persian Gulf, but disembarked in Karachi. After a few weeks they sailed to Bombay and then took a train journey to the purpose built refugee camp at Valivade, where they spent four long years.
There are some great figures during the war such as Władysław Anders and Stanisław Sosabowski. Do they remain heroes today among Poles?
Anyone who visits the Sikorski museum, in London or eats at the nearby Ognisko restaurant will soon spot a portrait of General Anders, the commander at Monte Cassino. He remains a Polish hero. Major-General Sosabowski is less well known to the young, but a hero he remains.
Perhaps it is not surprising that Wojtek the soldier bear’s fame keeps growing. The gentle innocence of an animal caught up in war injects an element of levity into a tragic story and even allows children to gain an understanding of a complex history. Wojtek has statues in the Sikorski museum and in Edinburgh. He is the subject of many books and a UK/Polish film, released in 2023, has won many awards. This is one way in which Polish history is passed to a new generation.
What happened to Bronek and Anna after the war?
When the war ended, Bronek was in Italy. His sister, wife and son were in Valivade and his nephew, Jaś was in Germany. They were allowed to choose the Allied country in which they wanted to settle. Bronek and Anna chose the UK since they thought it had a superior education system. They valued this above all else as it was something that could not be taken away. Bronek’s sister, her son Jaś and his Polish bride joined them.
Like many older men with family responsibilities who could not speak English well, Bronek was happy to take whatever work was available. The early years were hard, but they were at peace and the future was full of promise.
They were a popular couple and were always supported by the close-knit Polish community in Derby. This was the silver lining to the challenging experiences that they had endured together during the war. These influenced their behaviour in all sorts of ways. A torn pair of trainers, which I had binned, miraculously appeared at my bedroom door having been lovingly repaired. Saucepans had to leak before they would be replaced. Nothing was ever thrown away.
They both lived long and happy lives in Derby raising two children, son Zdziś and daughter Rysia. Both children became maths teachers.
Bronek’s sister married a Canadian farmer and moved to Dawson Creek, British Columbia. Jaś and his new wife Ola joined her before moving eastwards to Sarnia. Jaś fulfilled the American dream, becoming a chemical engineer and living a long and happy life on the shores of Lake Huron. Together with his wife they raised four children.
What’s the image on the front cover of the book?
On his way west from Bagdad to Palestine, Bronek was stationed for a few weeks at RAF Habbaniah. Here he joined the driving school. There was a great need for mechanics and lorry drivers to transport men and materiel. For a short time Bronek became a driving instructor to PESTKI (the women’s army corps). In the picture he is riding a motorcycle in front of a line of American Dodge lorries.
What’s next for you?
I will continue to give talks about Bronek and Anna’s experiences and hope to supervise a translation of The Chocolate Suitcase into Polish. I may combine my passions for art, physics, history and writing to produce a series of illustrated children’s books about some engineers and scientists who deserve to be household names.
Bryan Wiles is the author of The Chocolate Suitcase.
