AN AUTHOR and ex-detective from Redditch has put pen to paper to honour the men who made the ultimate sacrifice in the Second World War.
Tony Aston grew up in the town and attended Redditch County High School – now Trinity High School – in the mid to late 1960s.
Just inside the original school building’s main entrance, a Second World War Roll of Honour memorial hangs on the wall, engraved with the names of 21 former pupils who fought in the conflict.
Tony has published his book, ‘The Last School Bell’, telling the stories about each pupils who were killed in the war, and will be formally releasing it at Trinity High School on August 9 from 11am.
Redditch Mayor Councillor Joanna Kane will be in attendance and there will be live music from folk duo Julie and Steve Wigley.
There will also be a commemoration to the fallen, with the Last Post played by a Royal British Legion bugler and a two minutes’ silence.
Tony said: “I must have passed that board thousands of times during my time at the school without, I am ashamed to say, taking any notice other than a cursory glance.
“Sadly, I suspect that might still be the case today.”
Information collated from a number of sources has provided Tony with building blocks upon which he developed and wrote an account of each individual’s story.
The book includes a chapter about the headmaster who was in post at the time, Col Albert Edward Scothern, a commissioned lieutenant colonel in the First World War, Olympic athlete and England international footballer.
Tony has previously published his childhood memoir, ‘Redditch – From the Chip Shop to the Batchley’, followed by a true story, ‘The Bomber and the Weathervane’, a tapestry of wartime valour, unyielding passion and the haunting legacy of a downed Second World War Lancaster bomber.
Visit tonyastonauthor.com for more information.
