The Machine Gunners by Robert Westall

This is a very adventuries and action type of book where there are many modern day guns and bombs being used. I like the plot which is easy to follow and the characters.

The story is set during the Second World War and deals with a group of children living in the England. Their town, Garmouth, regularly suffers from bomb attacks by the German Luftwaffe. The children make a game of collecting war souvenirs, One of the children, Chas McGill, finds a German This they build with their friends, including a boy from Glasgow called "Clogger" Duncan, and another boy, nicknamed "Carrot Juice" on account of his ginger hair. They also team up with a girl called Audrey Parton, and the boy who lives in the house, called Benjamin "Nicky" Nichol. They build the fortress solidly, and name it "Fortress Caporetto" Later Nicky is the sole survivor when his house is bombed out, and according to Chas's puritan neighbour his mother and her non-married partner were found "Dead in their bed of sin with not a stitch on". Later on during an air-raid , the children fire the gun at the German. He is surprised at the stream of bullets coming at him, although it goes wide, and swerves into the path of an AA gun. Although the pilot is killed, the rear gunner bails out, and injures his ankle himself on landing. Nonetheless, Rudi Gerlath, victor of two air battles, evades capture for many days, until his ankle is sufficiently healed to allow him to walk again. However he then runs into the fortress where a meeting is taking place, and is promptly arrested by the children, who point the machine gun at him. In order to keep the fortress secret he is not handed over to the authorities but kept prisoner in the fortress, where Clogger and Nicky now live permanently. After a while he is bribed with the offer of a boat belonging to Nicky's biological father who is now dead, if he will mend the gun. He agrees, and mends it. The next day, the children are reported missing and some Free Polish troops are drafted in to look for them. The children on seeing a line of troops speaking in a foreign language advancing up the slope toward them open fire with the gun under the impression that it is the German invasion force. However they are soon overpowered and forced to surrender. In the chaos, Rudi is shot and wounded with his own Luger, now in the hands of Clogger, but not fatally. The very well-made fortress is surrendered to the Home Guard, then Clogger and Nicky are taken to a children's home while the other children are handed over to their parents.