A book celebrating the lives of military veterans living in Surbiton has just been released, featuring work from a collaboration between them and a group of schoolchildren.

“Poems by Post” contains letters, photographs and biographies of residents of The Royal Star and Garter home, as well as poems by local poets.

As part of the project, compilers It’s Not Your Birthday But, a project aimed to encourage people to communicate using letters, arranged a penpal network between residents and 12-year-old pupils from Hinchley Wood School.

Many of the new penpals discovered they had a lot in common, and some of the correspondence features in the book.

Tom Mallender, lead artist for Poems by Post, said: “It has been a genuine honour and privilege to work on the this project, every resident had something to teach me and offered inspiration on everything from how to live, to love, and how to look at the world and the responsibility we all have to the rest of society.”

Over many visits, spoke with the residents about their lives, recorded their stories and posted them to local writers, who in return composed poems inspired by the veterans.

Tom got to know each resident well and was even told stories family members had not heard before.

The book was launched at the home, with residents, families, staff and volunteers gathered to hear readings.

A poem inspired by resident Betty’s service in the Women’s Auxilliary Air Force was read out by her daughter, Pauline.

After the event, Pauline said: “It’s very easy for Mum to think what she did was nothing special, but we all think it was amazing. All of her family are very proud of her.”