Maria Marshall was born in Shepherds Bush, London, in 1935, to Alice and Edward Dalton, from Co. Westmeath; he died in 1940 from TB. Her sister Veronica was born in June that year. Alice’s siblings Angela and Joseph both married and were close and supportive during the difficult war years.Maria married Peter Marshall in 1956 and they had three daughters – Tessa, Noreen and Mairead. She has eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. After her retirement from teaching Business Studies in London, Maria and Peter moved to Ireland in 1999 to be close to two daughters and their families. Following an inspiring six-week writing course by writer Grace Wells in 2009, Maria was one of the founder members of the Loughboy Writers Group in Kilkenny.Maria self-published A Child’s War in 2016 – her memories of living in London throughout World War II.