TWO historians have penned a commemorative book about the World War One service of soldiers from Chirk.

“The Chirk Pals, their stories” has proved a labour of love for Graham Greasley and Deryn Poppitt who have spent the past two years researching material to tell the poignant tales of the men from the village who went off to the front.

They have delved into newspaper cuttings at the Leader's sister paper the Border Counties Advertiser as well as unearthing plenty of family memorabilia.

Up to 400 men from Chirk went off to war between 1914 and 1918, but 66 never returned home.

All those who served a number of regiments are listed in the book which is be held back for publication in time for Christmas so that it can include pictures of the village's Armistice service.

Many people supplied family pictures for inclusion in the book which has enabled the authors to put faces to soldiers.

Graham said: "We spoke to many relatives and they gave us permission to use memorabilia like letters and pictures to bring the book to life. One of our main sources were the local press reports and Deryn spent a lot of time researching the papers at the Advertiser offices.

"We detailed how those who were killed lost their lives and the sacrifices they made. But also we uncovered a lot about what was happening locally with the war effort too from fundraising and the recruitment drive for more men for the front.

"The one area we did have some difficulty was focusing on the role of the women of Chirk. There were women in the Red Cross for instance who were serving behind the lines, but we couldn't find any record of them."

"The Chirk Pals, their stories” costs £14 and all profits will go to the Royal British Legion. Anyone wishing to pre-purchase a copy by November 11 will have their name included in the book as a subscriber.

Contact Graham on 01691 777527 or Deryn on 0775 3787330.