THINK you know the history of Warrington?

Well a new book written by Janice Hayes promises to tell the story of the borough from A-Z with plenty of famous characters and familiar faces..

Published by Amberley, the A-Z of Warrington Places-People-History is out later this summer.

Janice is a former manager at Warrington Museum and has written numerous books on the history of the town.

A spokesman for Amberley said: “From its heyday in the 196th century as a major centre of wire making, textiles, chemical production and brewing, through to its subsequent reinvention as a new town in the late 1960s, Warrington has a proud heritage.

“In this new book, local author and cultural curator Janice Hayes takes the reader on a fascinating A–Z tour of the town’s history, from Roman Wilderspool via a lost medieval castle to the magnificent Town Hall adorned with its Golden Gates and highlights Warrington’s unique customs.

“Along the way meet the famous and infamous characters who have played their parts on the local and even international stage, shaping the town’s history and key events.”

Among those stories, and under the entry for U in the book is the story of Burtonwood.

During the Second World War Warrington was the site of several key military bases and saw a friendly invasion of Americans stationed at Burtonwood airbase.

RAF Burtonwood had opened in 1939, just in time for the crucial Battle of Britain, and the United States Army Air Force, which took over in 1942, played a vital support role for the war in Europe.

Janice said: “In 1967 Burtonwood became the largest US base in Europe as a US Army General Depot and the base’s mile-long Header House warehouse stored everything the US Army might need in the event of war in Europe.

“During Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War and the parallel conflict in Yugoslavia in the early 1990s it was rumoured that the supply depot held everything from a safety pin to a Sherman tank.

“Apart from the area occupied by the US Army much of Burtonwood base fell into decline from the mid-1960s.

“In 1965 plans for a Burtonwood International airport failed to get off the ground when the Ministry of Aviation decided against a third regional airport there.”

n The book will be published on June 15, priced £14.99.