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When 87-year-old David Fullalove started jotting down his memories of life growing up in Caerphilly, he never dreamt of them being published.

Born in Chelsea, London in 1934, David moved to Caerphilly aged just three months old and was raised by his grandparents on Dol y Felin Street.

The former engineer turned-English teacher has fond memories of the town he calls home.

Now, those private and intimate reflections, from attending Caerphilly Boys’ Grammar School (now St Martin’s School) to the arrival of American soldiers to Wales, have been published for the first time.

Barrage Balloons and Spanish Root is an 87-page collection of short stories and memories, but it was the memory of the famous Ice Storm of January 1940 that ignited David’s work and led to the publication of his first ever book.

David, who now lives in Torquay with his wife of 65-years, Margaret, continued: “I always had the vivid memory of the Ice Storm. At that time I didn’t know what an ice storm was.

“The memory is so strong, that I googled it to check it out. It was there. So I began to think of other things, that were as strong in my memory.

“I had no intention at the time of writing to make the memories public. I was encouraged by my niece to do so,” he told Caerphilly Observer.

“When I finally had the book in my hand, I realised that I had bared my soul. It was a very odd feeling of being vulnerable, open to criticism and ridicule.”

“Things that were part of a different world that my children should know about. That was my motivation, to tell how it was in wartime.

“It seemed to me that every door was open, every woman looked after us kids, even fed us. The villains at that time were not mobile. So it was safe.”

Lynda Nash, editor at Bright Tomorrow Books, who published the book, said: “It’s always a pleasure to read someone’s memoirs and to get a glimpse of how life was in a different era.

“Publishing these recollections preserves a slice of social history that otherwise might have been forgotten.”

David’s book, which is on sale for £4, can be bought online through Amazon.