Anyone who enjoys reading about the history of Andover will want to get a copy of Andover History and Archaeology Society’s latest publication Lookback at Andover, now published.

It comprises six articles written by local authors on a variety of subjects that have particular interest for the writers.

The front cover demonstrates just one example of the work of Frederick Pearse, the first person in Andover to set up a studio in 1869 and whose history is well-told by an enthusiastic collector of Pearse’s work for many years.

The name Pearse is also of course well-known to anyone of a certain age for the shop that stocked a huge variety of children’s toys right up until 1970.

Another shop that spanned the 1950s to the 1970s was Clark’s book shop at the top of the High Street and many readers will be fascinated to read about that and remember many happy hours spent there.

George Clark’s stock of books was huge and there is a final, interesting story after the shop was closed of a treasure that came to light.

Andover’s Lancaster bombers, paid for by local fundraising during the Second World War is another story not heard before, together with the flights that they undertook and the many exploits, both chilling and thrilling, are outlined here.

Continuing the war-time theme is a series of letters written between a family in Penton Mewsey whose day-to-day experiences highlight the real fears and troubles of life in a country village during that time. Away from the headlines of war, there was much else to give cause for concern.

The problem of what to do with the deceased as the graveyards fill up has always been a perennial problem and Andover was no different.

We learn how the cemetery was first instituted and how it was expanded as the need for burial space grew over the last century and a half.

Finally is the story of George Barnes, an 18th century enclosure commissioner who grew to national prominence and who lived in Andover but whose name has hitherto been absent from the town’s local history.

Here, that omission has deservedly been set right and we can read about his important work in enclosing land in a fair and equitable way that largely satisfied the many people involved.

Lookback at Andover is available from Waterstones, the Andover museum and from the AHAS website at www.andover-history.org.uk priced at £4.50.