More than one hundred years after the end of the First World War, the stories of 12 Merritt men who soldiered in the conflict have been captured in the pages of the Royal BC Museums latest book, Once Well Beloved, which is now available.

Starting with the stories of a carpenter, a coal miner and a drifter, all of whom volunteered for the war, Michael Sasges, a retired journalist and former director of the Nicola Valley Museum, paints a detailed picture of the soldier and, through them, the men, women and children of the Nicola Valley.

Once Well Beloved is a well reported historical document about the great impact of World War I on a small Canadian community, Jeff Fleischer writes in Foreword Reviews.

The work of B.C. history and biography is a vivid snapshot Merritt, where a granite cenotaph erected in memory of 44 men who died soldiering in the First World War still stands.

Through the stories of 12 of these 44 soldiers, readers also learn about the dramatic social and historical changes that occurred in the Nicola Valley, which had been suddenly and dramatically settled just a decade before by the will of railway executives and the arrival of British colliers.

The 144-page book, illustrated with black and white photographs from libraries, archives, museums and private collections, retails for $17.95. It is available through local bookshops, at the Royal Museum Shop and online at rbcm.ca/books.

Once Well Beloved is also available in braille, thanks to the National Network for Equitable Library Services Braille Publication Project. To download the electronic braille file, go online here.

The Royal BC Museums publishing department and Sasges are celebrating the launch of the book with two events: on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 6 p.m. at the Kamloops Library, downtown at Victoria Street and Fifth Avenue, and on Thursday, Nov. 7, at 7 p.m. at the Royal BC Museum in Victoria.

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Merritt's First World War soldiers subject of new book - Kamloops This Week