IT is time to relive your memories of Ipswich's Second World War years.A special book, entitled Ipswich, The War Years is brought to you by The Evening Star and features reminiscences and snapshots of life in the Ipswich and Felixstowe area.

IT is time to relive your memories of Ipswich's Second World War years.

A special book, entitled Ipswich, The War Years is brought to you by The Evening Star and features reminiscences and snapshots of life in the Ipswich and Felixstowe area.

It is written by former Star photographer David Kindred, who is still a familiar face thanks to his nostalgia column Kindred Spirits in the Star every Monday.

The column spans everything from war to rock and roll to school days and is still going strong after five years.

The book is made up of stories and images from the 30s to the early 60s that have featured in the column.

Mr Kindred said: “The column goes where readers want to go. I will fire off an idea and they respond with their memories of south-east Suffolk. I am just a vehicle for people's memories.

“I have restored and collected images from the past - from prints of events people have kept to glass negatives found in lofts and barns. People like to see these photographs come to life.

“Following the keen interest in the weekly column, it was felt that it would be nice to have something in permanent form.

“Newspapers don't have as long a shelf-life as a hardback book.”

Mr Kindred said the memories encapsulated in the book help recreate the past.

He said: “Historical facts are quite well recorded but the human stories, such as children hiding under desks at school and trying to do lessons in an air raid shelter, help fill in the gaps of history.

“I was born after the war, in 1946, so I always find the history of the Second World War interesting. It can be overlooked by the present generation that Ipswich was a target.

“Ipswich was an engineering town and companies that used to make agricultural machinery used to have to make parts for aircraft and ammunition and they were largely staffed by women. The women's land army had to help with agriculture. The role of women was changed dramatically.”

Ipswich, The War Years has just been published by First Edition Ltd in association with the Star. Copies priced at £14.99 are available from the Evening Star's main office in Lower Brook Street, Ipswich.