MOBBERLEY men who risked their lives for King and country in the Great War have forever been immortalised in their own dedicated history book.

To commemorate the centenary of the First World War, resident Alistair MacLeod has created a comprehensive booklet detailing the lives of many of Mobberley’s fathers, brothers and sons who served.

The booklet tries to identify all those remembered at Mobberley’s service of dedication held in 1921 and through whatever information has survived, provide a brief portrait of where they lived and how they fitted in to village life before war was declared.

“I thought it would be interesting to find out as much as I could about all those who served, whether or not they survived, who had a connection with Mobberley,” said Alistair, who first came up with the idea after helping organise Mobberley History Day last November.

“This was the first war to involve every community in the country; few households would have been unaffected.

“In a community of only 323 households in 1911, 288 men linked to Mobberley served, of which 48 died. Many of those who returned were deeply affected physically and psychologically.”

The 57-year-old compiled the booklet by consulting the roll of honour in the vestry at Mobberley’s Parish Church, sifting through census and war records, and trawling through Knutsford Guardian archives. He was also assisted by a number of residents, who are decedents of those who served.

The production of the booklet, titled ‘Remembering the men from Mobberley who went to fight for their country’, was paid for by Mobberley Parish Council and distributed to every residence in the village.

Around 100 copies of the booklet are left and are available to purchase for £5. Anyone interested in purchasing a booklet should call Alistair on 01565 872 871.