Life, not as we know it (From Stroud News and Journal)

Life, not as we know it

THE NAILSWORTH Valley is the latest book from author Howard Beard and is filled with fascinating photographs showing life long before iPods and mobile phones.

Howard lives in Stroud and has family connections with Nailsworth going back decades - in fact his ancestors ran one of the town's bakeries.

He has already published several successful books of photographs of the area including Around Nailsworth and Nailsworth in Retrospect.

In his latest work he expands his search to include photographs of Rodborough, Amberley, Selsley, Woodchester, Avening and Horsley.

Pictures date from the 1830s, and his special interest is early picture postcards from 1900 to 1914.

"Without these postcards we would know much less about the way things were, as very few people owned cameras", he said.

"The range and quality of the images creates an unusually clear record of days gone by."

Many photographs are intriguing because they show a world so far removed from our own.

For example, image of boys doing drills under the watch of a Sergeant Major at Beaudesert Park School in 1918 would send shockwaves down the spines of today's schoolchildren.

Another striking image is of crowds in the street celebrating peace after the horror of the First World War.

You can also find pictures of many streets which are still there, like Market Street.

* The Nailsworth Valley is published by Tempus and priced at £12.99. ISBN 0-7524-3725-9.