DURING the First World War nearly 5,000 wounded soldiers were nursed back to health in Red Cross auxiliary hospitals in Petersfield and the surrounding villages. Now after more than two years’ research, Petersfield museum trustee and local historian Bill Gosney (pictured) tells the fascinating story of how people in the community cared for and supported the casualties and their country during the difficult years of war. His book, Hospitals of The Petersfield Union 1914-1919, recounts in detail, with many of its 170 photographs from private collections, how the area coped with thousands of soldiers billeted for training before being sent to the battlefields of Europe, and how those men wounded in the conflict were treated in the hospitals and helped by residents. Copies cost £14.99 from Petersfield Museum and One Tree Books. All proceeds go to the museum.