Local aviation historian and author Tony Buttler will be taking a signing session next month in Pershore to promote his new book Building Concorde.

This is Mr Buttler’s 31st major book on aviation subjects, either as the sole author or with a colleague, and he has also written a large number of articles for most of the popular historical aviation magazines.

Concorde has long been one of his favourite aircraft – “the most beautiful aeroplane ever built” – and when his publisher Crécy asked him to write about the world’s only supersonic transport to have completed a successful service career, it was of course the obvious choice for the next large scale book.

Mr Buttler was educated at Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Evesham. In 1974 he joined High Duty Alloys in Redditch as a metallurgist and for 20 years was involved in testing aluminium and titanium components for all of the world’s major aircraft.

On leaving HDA in 1993 Mr Buttler took a Masters Degree in Archives and Library Studies at Loughborough University, and since 1995 he has been a freelance aviation historian.

Mr Buttler’s work has in general centred on military aircraft.

He said: "You don’t see very many books published on civil aeroplanes, especially covering the most modern Airbus and Boeing varieties, but Concorde of course is an exception."

His ‘Secret Projects’ series, with volumes looking at the development of military aircraft in Britain, Europe, America and the Soviet Union since the 1930s, has sold exceptionally well since the first one was published over 18 years ago.

He also has titles to his credit covering specific aircraft types such as the Harrier, the Hunter and the Vulcan. He has always described this job as “a hobby for a living”.

He said: "The publication of Building Concorde is particularly significant because next March will see the 50th anniversary of the airliner’s first flight.

"It's even more surprising that it is now 15 years since this extraordinary machine was retired from service.

"This volume looks not at the aircraft in service, but how it came into existence, both in England and in France. In this he was helped by Jean Christopher Carbonel in Paris who undertook the research for the French side of the story, and the result is a narrative which presents a great deal of new information and images.

Mr Buttler will be at Sedgeberrow Books in High Street, Pershore, on Saturday, December 8.