A new book exploring life as an evacuee in Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton during World War II will hit the shelves soon.

Sarah Shaw’s new book ‘From Doodlebugs to Devon’ is based on letters written by her mother to her father in 1944 and 45, it reveals what it was like to be under fire from the V1/flying bombs and her life as an evacuee in Exmouth and Budleigh Salterton.

The book follows the story of Housewife Yvonne Shaw's life on the Home Front as it is shattered when Hitler's terror weapons, the 'doodlebugs' or flying bombs, bombard south London. After several weeks of terror she escapes to Devon, but even there her troubles are not over.

In letters written to her husband, an army officer in Scotland, she describes her experiences, from trying to buy a decent joint of meat to witnessing the devastation in her suburb. They raise questions: Was Croydon deliberately placed in the doodlebugs' firing line? Why was its MP arrested for breaking the law? Why couldn't she escape to Scotland? Historical evidence provides answers, placing her account in context and revealing surprising stories about the government, secret services and social attitudes which confirm and challenge assumptions about this period.

Sarah told the Journal: "It is a book I have always wanted to write. My mother's letters are so vivid and witty. Although I’ve had them for decades, it was only when I retired that I had enough time to research answers to the questions they raised, such as whether the secret service deliberately put south London in the V1s’ firing line, why my mother chose Devon and what my father was doing in the army in Scotland. Some extraordinary stories emerged and one of my weirdest moments was when I was in the National Archives and found several memos he’d written and signed.'

Copies of From Doodlebugs to Devon are on sale from Amazon in paperback or Ebook HERE