A BURY-born historian is waging his own battle of words to ensure that the First World War is never forgotten with his new book.

Southern Thunder, by Steve Dunn, explores the oft ignored story of Scandinavian involvement in the war, and the role the Nordic countries played in the precarious battle for victory.

The book is the seventh by the prolific and dedicated writer following last year’s Bayly’s War ­— which recounted the lives of Bury sailors and little-known stories from Royal Navy’s Coast of Ireland Command.

Once again, utilising detailed analysis and first-hand accounts, Mr Dunn’s latest opus brings the North Sea theatre to life through vivid narrative.

Although they proclaimed neutrality during the First World War, Sweden, Norway and Denmark frequently played the warring powers against one another to protect their prestige and export trade.

During the scanty war years Germany increasingly relied on these countries for food and war materials.

While for Britain and the Allies it was imperative to restrict the flow of such goods, with that task falling to the Royal Navy.

Mr Dunn, who attended Bury Grammar between 1962 and 1971, and has previously been nominated for the Maritime Foundation’s Mountbatten Maritime Award, said: "Most people think that the way navies win wars is through big battles like Trafalgar. But they are actually for taking control of the seas, as your enemy cannot manage their war effort without access to these seas. And the same is true today.

He added: “This may not have captured the imagination of the public, who wanted a major sea battle like Trafalgar, but keeping the seas safe for British and Allied trade while blocking them off from Germany and its partners was critical to winning the war.”

Despite the campaign's significance to the war's eventual outcome Mr Dunn noted that it is a very under-researched area.

He said: "When I looked around for people who had a view on what had happened there weren't many of them because the Scandinavians weren't actually at war.

"Not many historians have looked at it because it doesn't look like a war, but it was, just by other means.

"I hope this book will bring to light something which is not generally recognised."

With the recent passage of the centenary of the conflict’s end Mr Dunn is concerned that the First World War may pass out of the public consciousness and is committed to ensuring this does not happen.

He said: "We have had a remarkable series of celebrations, and rightly so, but I now suspect people's attention will move on.

"The Second World War will soon reach levels of celebration and I don't want people to forget what happened in the First World War because it was a horrible exercise in slaughter, but it was also a game changer ­— it totally remade Britain and Europe.

"The people who died in that terrible conflict deserve respect and to be remembered."