A BOOK capturing the time when the small rural village of Tullibody suddenly expanded to support the coal mining industry is available in Clacks.

Wee County writer Drew Jamieson has recently released his book A Time Called Tullibody – Boyhood in a Post-War Village.

A very personal tale, the author traces the journeys of his grandparents as "economic migrants" into the village and describes his own boyhood adventures with his friends around local woods, rivers, fields and in the Ochils.

Until the 1940s Tullibody was but a small rural village with tannery being a long-established industry at the time.

However, following the Second World War, there was a period of transition into the 1960s with the village rapidly expanding to support mining in the area.

Mr Jamieson's grandparents themselves moved from Ayrshire and from the Mearns to work there.

Local Chris Calder, chair of Tullibody History Group, has been impressed by the book and played a part in its publication, having encouraged the author who originally submitted it as a pamphlet.

Indeed, she used to actually look after Mr Jamieson's mother Mary as a district nurse and the local history group is very much a tribute to her.

Chris told the Advertiser: "She[Mrs Jamieson] kept all these scrapbooks with articles and she was very supportive of the history group.

"She kept telling me about the village, that when you looked at today, didn't exist."

She added: "It's a lovely piece Drew has written I think; capturing life before computers, before telephones – the simpler way of life that my age group reminisce about and the new generation don't know a thing about really."

As Chris suggests the book should be of interest for the older generation who grew up in that era or just around then and might recognise some of the people, places, events and memories described.

But it could also interest young people who might struggle to visualise how their parents and grandparents enjoyed a world without television, smartphones and social media.

And it could also be a good read for anyone with an interest in history, indeed Tullibody is thought to be one of the oldest villages in Scotland with evidence of peoples living in the area since 4,000BC.

Chris added: "It's written about a Tullibody before I came to live here, but I heard about it from residents of Tullibody, the life that used to be, and I think he captured that very succinctly in the book.

"My age group probably reminisce and think: 'wish we could go back'."

The book, including numerous old pictures and maps, is available by emailing the author dumyat2@btinternet.com and costs £10 plus post and packaging.