Richard Barber, editor of Tresco Times, has written a fascinating chronicle of 4,500 years of human occupation.

This is an insider's view of life on the island - in the present and from the past - much of it in words from the islanders themselves.

Tragedy, humour, shipwrecks, sport and local politics are all recorded by the Editor and his friend "The Commodore".

In 160 pages and over 200 black-and-white photographs (mostly from unpublished Dorrien Smith family archives and the Gibson Collection) are detailed the shipwrecks, sport, local politics and day-to-day dramas of life on the island.

Wartime exploits of the flying-boat station in the Great War are described, as are the secret naval operations from Tresco in the Second World War.

He writes about daily life on Tresco, revealing the ways that islanders amuse themselves both during the season and in the winter when the island reverts to being a small isolated island community.

It is one man's personal and wry view of events. It is heroic, funny, tragic and always interesting. It describes a place that is quite literally the last piece of England.

More Information and How to Order

Published by Halsgrove (ISBN 1 84114 163 1) The Last Piece of England is a large format (A4) hardback book, and is priced at £25.00 which includes free postage in the UK.