It's the true story of Watford's incredible rise through the divisions in the late seventies and early eighties and now Rocket Men has been recognised as one of the best non-fiction books around by the Independent Publisher Book Awards.

Rocket Men - the sixth volume of the popular Tales from the Vicarage book series - scooped a bronze medal at the glittering awards ceremony which took place in Times Square, New York City, in the European non-fiction category. The annual event - now into its 22nd year - saw 4,500 entries from across the globe.

The book - written by Oliver Phillips and Mike Walters - features the stories of the only four players to have featured for the Hornets in all four divisions during that golden period - Ian Bolton, Luther Blissett, Ross Jenkins and Steve Sherwood. It also features a foreword from another club legend John Barnes who also played his part in the amazing story which impressed judges.

"Two words can describe this year's medal-winning books - compassion and action," said Awards Director Jim Barnes. "Independent publishing is all about passion for the people and their causes, and for sharing their stories with a world of readers."

Sky Sports Presenter Adam Leventhal is owner of the book's publishers Tales From and he spoke of the company's honour at being given global recognition for a project which honoured the memory of the club's greatest manager Graham Taylor by giving £1 from every book sold to Kit Aid, the charity of which Taylor was formerly patron

We wanted to ensure that this book gave something back in the name of GT by ensuring that cherished memories were put down on paper for future generations whilst also creating a tangible legacy for the book in honour of the man who made it all possible," Leventhal said. 

"We're absolutely thrilled to have been given this award, it was a real team effort from the great contributors, writers, editors and book designers, which reflects the subject matter so well - everyone pulling together for a common goal."

The charitable legacy comes in the form of donations that have been made to a Kit Aid project in Africa in agreement with Taylor's family. The money is being donated to Friends of Mulanje Orphans (FOMO) who support orphaned and the most vulnerable children, providing Health, Education, food security and out of school activities in Malawi. 

The funds raised from Rocket Men are being used to buy a school set up by the charity a brand new set of textbooks across a wide range of subjects - approximately 630 books - and Leventhal is to visit the school this Summer.

"Being publishers we wanted to ensure that the project that Rocket Men was linked with had education and books at its heart, and that's why working with FOMO was the right fit," Leventhal said.

"I'm going to have the opportunity to explain to the teachers and children a little more about the story of the club, Taylor and the Rocket Men and welcome them into the Watford family even though they are a long way from WD18."