A north-east woman discovered nine of her descendants were killed in the Battle of the Somme – as she wrote a book of poetry to commemorate the 100th anniversary.
Irene Penman sought inspiration from trips she and her husband took to France and Belgium for the poems.
Whilst researching for the book, Mrs Penman discovered a number of her ancestors were involved in the battle, as well as having links to the Gordon Highlanders.
The 48 year-old nurse, from Newtonhill, said: “We had been to France a few times on holiday and I really felt the emotional side of things there having had family members being involved in the battle.
“It was really an emotional journey for me and I decided that the best way of dealing with that for me would be to document it in a book.
“So putting down everything I was seeing and feeling was a great and enjoyable process for me.”
She has been delighted with the response the book, Where the Poppies Are, has had locally.
She said: “The whole thing is quite surreal, I have been really taken back by the reaction from people. Working as a nurse, there are posters up in Portlethen Medical Centre, and patients come up to me and say ‘Irene, is that you?’ and they say how fantastic my book is.
“The book was very moving to write, and I did get teary at times because I would really want to immerse myself in it.
