BOOK RELEASE: STONY STRATFORD DURING THE FIRST WORLD WAR

Milton Keynes historian John Taylor has a new book for sale.   Stony Stratford during the First World War has plenty of reading within its pages, and is as entertaining as it is thorough. "Instead of the usual generalisations and a sprinkling of photos I've tried to give it a 'I could have been there feel,' he explained. "...the content describes practically month by month what was happening in the town throughout the war.  Thereby, much like a soap opera, one becomes acquainted with the actual characters of the period - their occupations, their families and very often their wartime tragedies. "Also, what I hope comes across is the sense of determined resolve and the absolute belief in ultimate victory," John added. From  the arrival of Belgian refugees to the Volunteer Defence Corps, and the Military Tribunals set up to hear appeals from individuals trying to avoid military service, the book is an engrossing page-turner, made all the more gripping simply because this is the reality of life on our doorstep one hundred years ago. The horrors of war are perhaps best shown through the letters section, with the words of soldiers from the town: 'O how I think of the days gone by and our pleasant Sunday's at home..' wrote one. 'All round me men are being killed, and I don't know how I manage to escape...I am not going to tell you what is happening around me for it is too awful to mention. 'My nerves are all shattered...we haven't an officer left.' > Stony Stratford during the First World War is available from Waterstone’s in Midsummer Place, Wolverton Bookshop, MK Museum and Miss Havisham’s Tea Rooms in Timor Court, Stony Stratford.