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I read this novel in the early 1990s. It was English-language and set in a contemporary British town (possibly on the coast, but I'm not sure where). The viewpoint character (male -- don't recall his name) was a school student (probably circa 10 years old), who befriended a student (also male -- name might have been "Andy", but not sure) who had just transferred to his school.

This transfer student had the psychic ability to summon up events in the town from the Second World War. I don't remember if he and the viewpoint character could just see images, or if he could actually take them back to those events and they could influence them. (And this may not have been clear to the viewpoint character himself.)

The psychic ability may only have manifested in certain places where important events (deaths?) had taken place. (An abandoned theatre might have been one such place. I don't recall them visiting any specifically military site.)

After some adventure involving this ability (possibly connected with an air-raid during the war?), the viewpoint character finds that his friend hasn't come to school.

The teacher informs him that his friend transferred away, and there was no information about where he had gone because his father had some sensitive government job. (This ending is absolutely clear in my memory.)

The events of the book lasted a fairly short time -- probably a few weeks, at most a couple of months.

I do not recall any adult content beyond vague memories of descriptions of the violent effects of an air-raid.

I have no memory of the cover or whether it was paperback/hardback.

(It was definitely not Terry Pratchett's Johnny and the Bomb, which was published later and does not fit most of the details.)

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    You could improve this question by going through the checklists here and editing in any relevant info you can think to add.
    – Valorum
    Commented Sep 17, 2023 at 19:03
  • @Valorum Thanks -- I was looking at that list when I wrote the question, but I have added in a few more details that I am uncertain about. Unless some comment/answer jogs my 30-year-old memory, the question has everything I can remember.
    – Senex
    Commented Sep 17, 2023 at 19:12
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    For example, over what period did the events of the book take place (weeks, years)? What was his friend's name? Was this the southern coast of England? What language was the book written in? Did they ever visit a pillbox or war ruin? What did the book cover look like? Was there any moderately adult content (e.g. violence, sex, etc)
    – Valorum
    Commented Sep 17, 2023 at 19:19
  • @Valorum Thank you for the definite pointers. I think I have addressed the points you raised. The additional info is mostly negative ("I don't recall..."), but I appreciate how it might be valuable.
    – Senex
    Commented Sep 17, 2023 at 19:27
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    Small town British school boy who, with his mates, goes back to WWII when their town was bombed, kind of matches Johnny and the Bomb, but the rest doesn't fit
    – DavidW
    Commented Sep 17, 2023 at 20:08

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