Children's book aims to encourage pride in Swindon's heritage

Hannah Dosanjh wrote and illustrated the book celebrating Swindon's history

Every school in a town is set to receive a copy of a book detailing the history of the area.

A Railway Town Called Swindon, written by local author Hannah Dosanjh, tells the story of the town's railway history and its social impact.

Great Western Railway (GWR) has sponsored the purchase of 100 copies for schools.

Mayor Barbara Parry said she hoped the book would give children a sense of "real pride" in Swindon.

The Wiltshire town was home to a huge railway works that first started producing locomotives in the mid-1800s.

At its peak, about 12,000 people were employed at the works, which closed in the 1980s.

"I wanted to make sure that every child in Swindon got to learn a bit more about our history and how important Swindon is," said Ms Parry, who's backing the scheme to distribute the book to schools as part of World Book Day on 7 March.

"They should be so proud of our town.

"So many people talk Swindon down and it infuriates me. I think a lot of that is a lack of knowledge - there is so much more to Swindon than people realise."

Mayor Barbara Parry supported the initiative to provide all schools in Swindon with a copy of the book

Readers are taken through the town's history by characters Isambark Kingdog Brunel and Spaniel Gooch, based on industrialists Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Daniel Gooch

Ms Dosanjh said she was inspired to write the book after realising that there were no children's books about the town's history.

"When I first had the idea for the book, I never realised the impact it would have," she said.

"I am so pleased every school child in Swindon will now have access to the book and learn about Swindon's history."

Ms Parry read the book to a group of school children

Joe Graham, from GWR, added: "Swindon is as important today for GWR as it was when Brunel and Gooch first chose the town for the world-famous railway works.

"This book is a great way to tell that importance to those who could become the GWR engineers, train drivers and station managers of the future and we are really pleased to help the mayor in getting this into schools."