THE experiences of his grandfather and father in two world wars has led a Lydney man to write a poetry book which is going on sale in the town's Poppy Shop.

"I first started writing 'For John, Winston and Of Course Harry' in 2003 but it has taken much longer to get the impetus to put it altogether," said David Holmes, 64.

The 'John' in the title is his grandfather, 'Winston' is his father, and 'Harry' is celebrated long-lived serviceman Harry Patch, 111, who David was lucky enough to meet before he died in 2009.

"The book records my journey, in poems, words and images along the Western Front to discover my grandfather's war," says David, who will be selling and signing copies at the Poppy Shop and donating £1.50 for each copy sold to the Poppy Appeal.

He says both his relatives, like Harry Patch, never liked talking about the horrors of war. John was in the 1st Fifth Leicesters, a Territorials unit, and badly wounded on the Somme in 1916 before he was eventually killed in action. His father Winston was in the Royal Engineers in the Second World War.

"I think it is important to record family history before it is lost forever," said David, who has been asked to read one of his poems at the Remembrance Day service in St Mary's.

"People say war was terrible then, but it's still happening now. They are still dying in Afghanistan and it's all horrible, no different to any other wars. We need to be reminded of that."