PICKERING is one of the best recorded towns in the country, says Gordon Clitheroe.

He should know. He's curator of the town's Beck Isle Museum and has just assembled another book of photos from days gone by in Pickering and area.

It's called Pickering: The Second Selection and its 120plus pages contain a wide variety of photographs that depict many aspects of early life in and around the town.

In an introduction to the book, Mr Clitheroe gives credit where credit is due.

"I would like to start by paying tribute to all the Pickering photographers, some now forgotten, who have made their contribution to the unique photographic record of the town.

"Men such as Boxell, R Cottam, Boak & Sons, T E Dodd, J W Walton, William Hayes and his son Raymond of Hutton-le-Hole, H Aldine of Sinnington and, the greatest of them all, Sydney and Maud Smith."

There is a wide variety of themes in the photos and Mr Clitheroe explains: "All events were covered, and the Smiths travelled considerable distances to take their photographs, in the early days of motoring.

"They covered ships aground at Whitby in 1914...all types of weather; floods, blizzards, hail storms, snow drifts, freeze-ups; events - celebrations, disasters such as car crashes, fires and fatal trench collapses.

"They were all accurately recorded like the television news coverage of today."

The photographs in the book are the copyright of Mr Clitheroe, trustees of the Beck Isle Museum and Barbara Sokol, Sydney Smith's daughter, and her family.

The book, published by Tempus, is now available in shops priced at £10.99.

Or there is a special discount offer, a saving of £1, for mail orders.

If you wish to order, send, along with your name and full postal address, a cheque for £9.99 payable to Tempus Publishing Limited: The Mill, Brimscombe Port, Stroud, Gloucestershire GL5 2QG. For a credit card transaction, ring Tempus on (01453) 883300.

Updated: 09:53 Wednesday, September 04, 2002