Malmesbury Reflections, the second book created by the Malmesbury Now & Then Heritage & History Facebook group and local author Charles Vernon, is now on sale.

It was launched on Saturday, October 10 at the Julia Rausing Building in Oxford Street, Malmesbury.

More than a third of the books, which are raising money for the Athelstan Museum and the Malmesbury Civic Trust, have already been sold.

Click the gallery above for a taste of what to expect in the book.

Malmesbury Now & Then founder Alison Cross-Jones said: "When Covid and lockdown hit us we thought it may adversely affect the whole book project. It’s actually been a different experience for us all.”

“We decided to make the Now & Then groups bad news free zones and we encouraged members to seek out old photos. The result is many new never before seen images becoming available to share.”

“Lots of people got involved and contributed too like Chris Harvey who gave an insight into the history behind the fire service and Mike Rees who contributed the story behind the Malmesbury Boxing club, the list goes on and on with too many to mention and we’re grateful to each and every one, it’s been amazing!”

“The Malmesbury Now & Then team is very appreciative of Charles Vernon for giving his time to write the book again for a second year. His knowledge of Malmesbury’s history, made him the obvious choice.”

“We’re also grateful for the kind offer from the Malmesbury Civic Trust to help financially support the printing but sales have been so good we’ve completely covered the costs.”

“For the second year running, we’ve been delighted to see books being sent to every corner of the globe and being posted across the UK."

“Both books, Malmesbury Now & Then last year and Malmesbury Reflections this year, have exceeded all my expectations and the group has achieved much more than I could ever have imagined. I still have to pinch myself!”

“We’re already looking at more projects within other groups of the growing Now & Then heritage and history Facebook groups.”

Author Charles Vernon said: “It’s been an interesting partnership with the Malmesbury Now & Then team and as a writer I’ve really enjoyed helping compile this book and hearing the stories behind the pictures provided by so many local people.

"I’m not a really someone who uses Facebook. Alison persuaded me it was a good idea to join. It’s this communication that’s helped me connect with Now & Then group members.”

“The support from everyone within the town last year and this year has been astounding but I’m going to take a break from writing for a bit. It’s been two hectic full on years with both books.”

Sharon Nolan, chair of Athelstan Museum Malmesbury, said: “The first book was so well received and we are very much looking forward to selling Malmesbury Reflections.”

“Athelstan Museum would like to thank everyone involved for their exhaustive work and their continued support of the Museum which will benefit 100 per cent from sales. We’re all excited about this fascinating and comprehensive photographic record of the town now, and for the future."

The idea for both the Malmesbury Now and Then and Malmesbury Reflections came from the members of the community Facebook group of the same name, set up by Alison Cross-Jones who at the time was a local resident.

To find out more about the book, to order a copy, or start a Now & Then Facebook community group in your area contact: malmesburynowandthen@gmail.com