A WELSHPOOL woman has self-published a book on what life was like growing up in the Mid Wales town during the 1940s and 1950s.

“I started to write it because I couldn’t find a book in Welshpool which I could relate to,” said Val Jones, who first started putting together her memoirs a few years ago.

The book, titled ‘My Memories of Welshpool’, has been printed at the Welshpool Printing Company.

However, because of the coronavirus lockdown, it hasn’t yet been launched. Instead, boxes of the books are sitting in Val’s spare room.

“Hopefully in the not too distant future it will appear on sale in Welshpool,” she said.

The book paints a picture of what everyday life was like during the period after World War Two, focusing around New Street, where Val grew up, as well as Welshpool as a whole.

Val said: “It’s really about growing up around the town during rationing and the aftermath of war.

“It was hard, but for us growing up, we didn’t know any different,” she added.

“Life was different to how it is today.”

The story talks about how people lived when she was young, with many people giving personal accounts of their experiences to add to the book’s tales of social, historical and everyday happenings.

The book talks of going to Sunday school, the shops and businesses that no longer exist, and the now-closed cinema – or pictures, as people tended to call them at the time.

“There’s a little bit of history of Welshpool in there,” Val said.

Val also talks about growing up around tourist attractions, including some which still draw in visitors– the Llanfair railway and Powis Castle.

“We didn’t realise how lovely the Powis Castle Park was. It was just somewhere to play in,” Val said.

My Memories of Welshpool will hopefully be available so buy soon, but Val doesn’t want to make any money from it – she just wants to get her stories and her memories of her hometown out there.

“It’s something that I have enjoyed doing. I don’t really want to make any money. If we do I’ll give it to a local charities,” Val said.