OLD Ludlovian Ron Powell is going into print for the second time.

Ron, aged 61, a retired RAF pilot whose brother, Brian, works in Ludlow railway station ticket office has written a second book ‘Wings over Malta'.

“I can hardly believe it will be almost three years to the day since I sat in Castle Book Shop signing my first novel, Wings over Summer," he said.

“Since then, it has gone on to sell well over 16,000 copies and I’m hoping Wings over Malta will have the same success.

Wings over Malta opens in March 1942, with Battle of Britain ace, Jack Williams, flying one of the first 15 Spitfires to reach the island, by then the most heavily bombed place on earth. Once there, he and his fellow pilots have a simple task: to regain control of the air.

“While ‘Wings over Malta’ focuses mainly on the Spitfire pilots who fought, I’ve also tried to reflect the defiance and courage of the Islanders, who refused to give in, despite suffering dreadfully under the German bombing," he said. "The book is dedicated to both the islanders and their defenders.”

Ron Powell will be in Ludlow to sign his book at the Castle Book Shop on Saturday, August 27 between 11am and 12.30pm.