The founder of a Huntingdon-based translation agency, Anglia Translations Ltd, has published his first non-fiction history epic on the historic Huntingdonshire village of Great Staughton.

"Great Staughton and Its People: How a Huntingdonshire Village made its mark on England's History" is written by Anthony Withers, who founded the business in the early 1990s.

Great Staughton and its People profiles the history of a seemingly modest Huntingdonshire village which, over the past 2,000 years, has played host to some remarkable characters and events of national prominence.

Oliver Cromwell, the famed politician and military leader, was born just ten miles down the road in Huntingdon; Catherine of Aragon, the first wife of Henry VIII, was also imprisoned in the castle in nearby Kimbolton.

The book offers detailed biographies of these historical figures and many more, setting their life and work into a wider context of English history from Roman times to the present day.

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"I discovered so many stories during my research, such as the first documentary evidence for the village of an Anglo-Saxon will, dated 989, of a nobleman called Ælfhelm Polga," said Anthony

"Also, the brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell, Valentine Walton, was born in the village.

"His name may not be immediately familiar, but he was a respected politician and one of the figures that signed the death warrant of King Charles I in 1649."

"Then there is one of my favourite characters: Fanny Duberly. This eminently respectable country lady decided to accompany her husband to the Crimea, where she wrote a devastating journal describing the horrors of that campaign."

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Anthony has lived in Great Staughton for 45 years and credits an untranslated sundial in the village for starting him off on this "historical quest".

Anthony balanced both running his company and writing the book, although he admits he wasn't able to entirely focus on his research until after his retirement.