A Bullet Saved My Life: The Remarkable Adventures of Bob Peters By Greg Lewis Warren & Pell Publishing The incredible life of war veteran Bob Peters is told in a new book by former Western Telegraph journalist Greg Lewis.

Greg tracked down 91-year-old Bob after discovering he was one of the last surviving volunteers who fought in the Spanish Civil War.

Bob has never told his remarkable story until now.

"I had become friends with another veteran, Alun Menai-Williams, who sadly died recently," said Greg. "We heard about Bob and realised that, although he was still alive, little was known about him."

Greg, 37, tracked Bob down to his home in Kent and listened to the story of an eventful life.

"In the early 1930s, with the depression hitting in Britain, Bob had headed to Canada while he was still a teenager in a bid to find work," explained Greg.

It was there he heard about the military rising in Spain.

Seventy years ago, in July 1936, General Francisco Franco led a coup to overthrow Spain's democratically-elected left wing government.

It began a vicious civil war, in which Hitler and Mussolini backed Franco, making the conflict a dress rehearsal for the Second World War.

"Volunteers from all over the world went to Spain to fight on the government's side. They were called the International Brigades and Bob was among them."

Bob was smuggled into Spain but, in July 1937, he was shot in the back as he crawled through a trench under fire. The bullet was too near his spine to be removed.

"He recovered and volunteered as a motorcycle despatch rider. Amazingly the jolting of the rough roads and dodgy motorbikes made the bullet move. He was operated on and the bullet cut out."

In October 1938 the International Brigades were withdrawn and took part in an historic march through Barcelona. Although the war was lost they were treated like heroes.

The book also covers Bob's Second World War experiences.

After the war he settled in Kent, where he lives today.

The book's foreword has been written by First Minister Rhodri Morgan.