FORMER Cammell Laird draughtsman Dave Horne has written a book saluting the valour and sacrifice of 29 Higher Bebington men who gave their lives in the Great War.

Dave, 66, spent 12 months delving through battalion war diaries, official archive material and newspaper files to bring detail and colour to the names engraved on the village memorial at Christ Church.

He does not expect to make any profit from the sale of his book Higher Bebington’s Heroes 1914 -1919 – even though he spent £1,000 on its production.

He insisted: "It is not a money-making venture - the sole intention is that these brave and patriotic men should be remembered given the upcoming centenary of the Great War next year.

"In the main they didn’t wait for their country’s call, they had joined up before the end of 1914.

"My book tells the story of these ordinary men who were asked to do extraordinary things."

Dave's interest in the First World War was triggered when his father gave him the medals of his great uncle William Horn for safekeeping.

He said: "It got me thinking about who he was, so I started looking into it. I worked for long hours and it took me many years, but I enjoyed what I was doing. His name was on the village memorial and when I retired 18 months ago I decided to investigate the other 28.

"I got photographs of most of them and full details of their military history and civilian lives. My only thoughts were that these guys should be remembered."

Dave, who has three children, added: "I enjoyed it so much – I got the feeling that I had known them. The work was so interesting that I have started to do research on the heroes listed on the Lower Bebington memorial.”

The book costs £9.50 and so far Dave has sold around 60.

The publisher is Countyvise, a Birkenhead company. They are also available through Amazon and EBay.