Kevin J Last is the author of a book called Remembering Christopher Robin – Escaping Winnie-the-Pooh.

He told me he wrote the book because he was given exercise books by an eccentric aunt in Brighton which contained a handwritten diary from the 1850s by William Young who had been a farmworker, at Cotchford Farm in Hartfield.

This became the family home of the Milnes before becoming the place where Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones met his death under suspicious circumstances in 1969.

Christopher Robin Milne was born in Chelsea in 1920.

His father AA Milne created a fictionalised version of his son as Kevin explained: “At first he loved the attention he was getting and the circus around it but as time went on he got fed up with being teased and having to perform.”

He lived a privileged life, attending Stowe School in Buckinghamshire, then Cambridge University.

Joining the Army was the making of him and unlike his father who had fought in the First World War as an officer, he came up through the ranks.

Christopher got married to Lesley in 1948. The couple were looking for a new start and in 1951 moved west to open a bookshop in Dartmouth.

Kevin explained: ‘‘The bookshop is now an art gallery on Fairfax Place (Whistlefish) but lasted for 60 years until 2011 under different managements.”

Aside from the business, Christopher immersed himself in the Dartmouth community as Kevin remarked: “He became a very active member of the Dartmouth Association and fought planning applications that he judged would make Dartmouth awful.

“Although he loved the lower part of town he was less impressed by the development up the hill.’’

In later life Christopher became estranged from both his parents. He died in Totnes in 1996 aged 75.

The book is available in all good bookshops and on Amazon.