Stories of Faith from WWII: Beryl's Story  

Beryl Yorke (far left) was eleven when World War II broke out. During a bombing raid, she lost her most precious possession – a Bible. She prayed to be reunited with it, and eighteen months later, a workman found it and returned it to her. Now 91, Beryl reflects on the lifelong impact of this answered prayer.

I grew up in London in a large family with few material belongings, but there was one item I treasured above all else: a Bible I received in primary school. At bedtime, my mother would occasionally read from it to us. We attended church regularly, and I spent a lot of time at the Girl’s Brigade, which I loved.

When World War II was declared, I happened to be staying with my sisters at a Christian convalescence home in Bournemouth, recovering from a significant illness. What was meant to be a two-week stay turned into a four-and-a-half-year residence. The war prompted the mass evacuation of children from London to protect us from the bombings, and we remained in Bournemouth. 

The only possessions I had brought with me were a few clothes and my treasured black, soft-leather Bible.

Then, one weekend, there was a bombing raid on the south coast, and the school I was attending was hit. Fortunately, no one in the school was hurt, but everything was destroyed and my Bible was lost in the ruins.

I remembered a story I had heard from a missionary about a young girl who lost her mother’s ring in a hayfield. After praying, the ring was miraculously found. This story encouraged me to believe that Jesus could help me, too. And so I prayed, asking for my Bible to be returned.

Sometime later, I was asked to memorise forty Bible verses for a test. I passed with flying colours, and the matron rewarded me with a new Bible. It was almost exactly like the one I had lost, and I was overjoyed. I thought that God had answered my prayer through the matron’s generosity and her gift to me. How wonderful, I thought, that God could work through other people to answer our prayers.

However, my story didn’t end there. Imagine my amazement when, eighteen months later, while attending a different school in a different town, I returned to school one day to find my original Bible sitting on my desk. It had been found in the wreckage of the bombed school by a workman. He had discovered the Bible intact amongst the ruins and came to my new school to track me down. He asked a girl in my class if she knew anyone by my name – which she did!

I was so thrilled to think that God was able to care for me in this way. I learnt at this young age that God always hears our prayers and thoughts.

That answer to prayer has always remained with me. In my 91 years, I have continued to reflect on how God has always spoken to me – especially through reading His living words in the Bible and through talking with Him in prayer.

Beryl's story will be featured in our upcoming WWII Commemorative Edition of the Gospel of John. Find out more here.

Edited by: Bethan Walker