The Lone Pine series is a vintage British children’s mystery series that began during WWII, and what makes it interesting for me is that the war itself is part of the books. One of the kids in the book is a child evacuee send away from London to escape the bombings, and others have a father serving in the RAF. The series somewhat resemble various series written by Enid Blyton around the same time because it involves a group of children who like to go on adventures and solve mysteries during school breaks with their dog. Individual books in the series begin with a section that explains the background of the characters and their club. One that I have says that the characters will not age during the series because readers of the books don’t want to see them age and end their adventures. However, while the series continued for decades, the children in the series, most of whom are teenagers in the early books, do age by a few years through the series, and some of them end up being engaged to other club members in the final book.

The Lone Pine Club is a group of friends dedicated to “exploring, and watching birds and trailing strangers”, a very interesting combination. Their club rules include being kind to animals and “To be true to each other whatever happens.” When they made the rules of the club, the members signed them in their own blood. They called themselves the Lone Pine Club because their meeting place is a secret camping spot under a pine tree in the valley of Witchend. Their secret club signal is a whistle that sounds like the call of a peewit (sort of like how Trixie Belden and her friends use the call of a bobwhite to signal each other, but the Trixie Belden books came later and are an American series).

Lone Pine Club Members:

David Morton – He is the leader of the club, and he is 16 years old. His mother brought him and his siblings, a set of fraternal twins, to Witchend during the war while his father is serving in the RAF.

Richard and Mary Morton – David’s younger siblings, the twins. They are ten years old. They attend different boarding schools from each other, but they’re still very close and spend most of their time together during school breaks. They are very alike for fraternal twins and even have the habit of finishing each other’s sentences. Richard goes by the nickname Dickie. Mary tends to be the leader of the two.

Petronella Sterling – She is 16 years old but prefers to go by the nickname Peter. She lives with just her father and goes to boarding school, but her favorite thing to do is to go exploring with her pony, Sally. She loves outdoor activities and is an excellent swimmer and rider. (Like with the characters in the various Enid Blyton books, it’s considered a compliment that she is better than most boys at these things because it’s assumed that boys are more athletic.) She is particularly friends with David and has been happier since the Mortons moved to the area and became her friends.

Tom Ingles – Tom is a 15-year-old child evacuee from London, now living on his uncle’s farm outside of Witchend. At first, it was difficult to adjust to life in the country, and he was a little suspicious and impatient with the other kids, but since he made the adjustment to his new life, he’s been happy with his new friends.

Jenny Harman – Jenny joined the group in the second book of the series. She is almost 15 years old, and Tom particularly likes her. She lives with her stepmother, who doesn’t treat her well. They live in the post office of another town, so the others see her only occasionally.

Jonathan Warrender – He’s a little older than David, and he is described as being tall and lanky with glasses. He lives with just his mother, who owns a hotel called the Gay Dolphin Hotel, and attends boarding school.

Penelope Warrender – She’s Jonathan’s cousin, and the others call her Penny. She also attends boarding school, but she lives with her aunt and cousin at the Gay Dolphin Hotel during school breaks because her parents are living abroad.

MacBeth – He is a black Scottie dog who belongs to the Morton family. He is especially close to Mary, and he accompanies the children on their adventures.

The series was written by Malcolm Saville, who also wrote other children’s series and some nonfiction books about nature.

Books in the Series:

Mystery at Witchend (1943)

Seven White Gates (1944)

The Gay Dolphin Adventure (1945)

The Secret of Grey Walls (1947)

The group of friends spends their winter holidays at a boarding house in the country, investigating the theft of sheep from nearby farms.

Lone Pine Five (1949)

The Elusive Grasshopper (1951)

The Neglected Mountain (1953)

Saucers Over The Moor (1955)

Wings Over Witchend (1956)

Lone Pine London (1957)

The Secret of the Gorge (1958)

Mystery Mine (1959)

Sea Witch Comes Home (1960)

Not Scarlet But Gold (1962)

Treasure at Amorys (1964)

Man With Three Fingers (1966)

Rye Royal (1969)

Strangers at Witchend (1970)

Where’s My Girl? (1972)

Home To Witchend (1978)