The intriguing goings on at a former Island pub form the basis of a new book.

Tales of the Jolly Sailor provides an insight into the everyday workings of the once popular Blue Town pub as well as the colourful characters who inhabited it.

It’s written by Vivien Bailey, whose grandparents, William and Annis Ball, ran the pub from the 1930s to the 1960s.

Although not on general sale, the book is available at Blue Town Heritage Centre, Minster Gatehouse Museum and Sheppey Gateway in Sheerness High Street.

Vivien, 65, who now lives in St Albans, explained the thought behind the historical tome. She said: “It brings to life the community of Blue Town at the time.

“I’ve included memoirs from my mother Edna about living in the pub and her time working in the dockyard as a recording officer.

“Blue Town was a vibrant community in those days, and during the Second World War the pub had many visitors from different backgrounds.”

Vivien said it took about a year to complete research on the book with help from her cousins, Mike Smith, Valerie Wakeling and Rose-Marie Brind, who still lives on the Island.

Facts which might surprise readers was her discovery that the pub played regular host to French Resistance fighters during the Second World War.

It’s a book for revelling in a descriptive and personal account of a colourful and “vibrant” element of Sheppey’s past.

“The language is gritty and down-to-earth and the story is very, very interesting,” she said.