A REMARKABLE 17-year-long project between an Exeter historian and a man he never met is set to throw new light on war and peace in the city.

It has come together in a new book which Peter Thomas will launch this summer. It will contain previously unseen photographs of Exeter between 1944 and 1946 — including VE and VJ Day celebrations.

One Man's War in Exeter, with photographs by Ken Jackson, marks 65 years since the end of the Second World War.

It highlights the city's efforts to raise war funds, along with over 200 photographs, including remarkable Victory Parade scenes of soldiers and sailors dancing in London Inn Square. the photos are accompanied by on-the-spot reports from the day's Echo.

Mr Thomas, who said the book was due to be published in August, added: "I feel that it is going to be something far greater than I imagined and not just a book of archive photos. The articles from the Echo have proved invaluable. The book will be going to the printer almost immediately, but interesting bits and pieces still keep coming up."

And Mr Thomas has thanked Mr Jackson, who lives in the Channel Islands, for his involvement. The pair have corresponded only by phone and post.

Mr Thomas said: "We first spoke to each other when he was 76. He is now 93 and virtually blind. Despite this handicap he has persevered. He has been quite remarkable.

"Working in Exeter for the GPO he was able to record scenes in Exeter between 1944 and 1946 using a Leica camera.

"He managed to acquire small amounts of film and made up all his own chemical solutions for processing and used an air raid shelter as a darkroom."