The Machine Gunners

Author: Westall, Robert

Interest age: from c 9 years

Published on 3 April 2025 by PAN MACMILLAN (Macmillan Children's Books) in the United Kingdom.

Paperback | 272 pages
197 x 130 x 16 | 190g

Celebrate 50 years of adventure as Chas McGill and friends turn war trophies into perilous games, in Robert Westall's acclaimed classic and a Carnegie Medal winner, The Machine Gunners. Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in Garmouth but wants it to be the best. When he stumbles across the wreckage of a downed German bomber, he finds the ultimate trophy – a working machine gun.

Hiding his discovery from the local police, Chas recruits his friends and together they build a fortress for their prize. But war is not a game and soon both friendships and loyalties are tested when the gang's actions have dangerous consequences.

Robert Westall wrote The Machine Gunners for his son, Christopher, based on his own experiences during the Second World War. A modern classic of children's fiction, it went on to win the CILIP Carnegie Medal in 1975 and has been in print ever since.

With a new refreshed cover for the 50th anniversary.