A former regional press journalist has written a book about how Britain prepared for a possible German invasion during the Second World War – with the help of material from local papers.

Mark ‘Chip’ Rowe, left, who started his journalism career at the Wiltshire Times, has had his first book published by The History Press, called ‘Don’t Panic: Britain prepares for invasion 1940′.

He started work on the book in 2005 and gained information for it from the Home Guard and other witnesses by placing appeals in local papers and researching newspaper reports of the day.

Mark, who has already self-published local history books about his native Staffordshire, worked on a number of regional papers including Carlisle’s News & Star and The News, Portsmouth, before going to work at Professional Security Magazine in 1999, where he remains.

He said: “Obviously some newspapers then as now were better than others, but almost every one had something of use to me.

“The very best ones not only reported on their patches fully but printed a spectrum of opinions, including some far from patriotic or optimistic.

“That gave me the confidence to write that the year 1940 was far from our ‘finest hour’ as the authorities so wanted us to believe, then and now.

“Censorship did go on, that the press went along with, meaning that newspapers could not print anything that might fall into enemy hands and be of use to them as intelligence.

“That extended even to wedding reports – newspapers could not mention the unit of a bridegroom serving in the armed forces, in case it was of use to the Nazis.”

Mark’s next book ‘The Victory Tests: England-Australia 1945′, is due to be published by Sports Books in September and he is also working on another Second World War publication.

The book can be purchased from The History Press’ website.