VICTORIA Cross winners and their remarkable stories are the subject of a new book by Herefordshire's best-known ex-soldier, General Sir Peter de la Billiere.

Sir Peter, who has himself been awarded the Military Cross and bar, was at Ross Books last weekend to sign copies of Supreme Courage - Heroic Stories, from 150 years of the Victoria Cross.

Explaining what prompted his choice of subject, Sir Peter said: "This year is the 150th anniversary of the first medal to be awarded and I wanted to look at the background of a cross-section of the people who had won it.

"I wanted to see if they were exceptional people before they won, if they had demonstrated an outstanding amount of courage. What I found was that most of them could have been anybody, but had courage in battle."

The last man to be awarded the Victoria Cross, albeit posthumously, was Sergeant Ian McKay of the Parachute Regiment, during the Falklands War.

"There was no question of a VC being won during the Gulf War," said Sir Peter, who commanded British forces in that conflict.

"There was not the level of action that calls for courage, and as long as warfare is as it is today, this will remain the case."

Sir Peter first joined the Kings Shropshire Light Infantry in 1952, but it was the SAS that brought him to Herefordshire, and a love of the county has kept him here.

"After an extremely peripatetic life in the army, living in Herefordshire provides a degree of stability," he said. "It is a beautiful county."

In recent years, Sir Peter has forged links with Ross-on-Wye's John Kyrle High School, following an invitation by the school to help in its bid for technology college status in 2001.

"The school is prospering dramatically under the leadership of Nigel Griffiths," said Sir Peter.

"The majority of children in the area go to the school and they are the future of that part of Herefordshire.

"If you live near the school you owe it to them to help further the development of their education," he added, explaining his continuing support.

Through his association, students at John Kyrle are enthusiastic supporters of FARM-Africa, a charity with which Sir Peter has close links.