AN 86-year-old woman from Marlborough has become a first time author after releasing a book about what life was like during and after the Second World War.

Sylvia Beatrice Stroud, of Chopping Knife Lane, has released an online book called Born at Chopping Knifes, which covers rationing, evacuees, American soldiers, air raids, searching for food in the countryside and recovering from the war.

For many months now, one hour a night, Mrs Stroud has put together the book, with the help of her daughter Carolyn Sheppard, one page at a time, in what has been a very emotional and worthwhile experience.

"It has been a really enjoyable and emotional experience for me, bringing back these old memories but I am very happy with it," she said.

"It has seven chapters so it is a fairly short book and it starts with my parents getting married in 1929 and then living through the war and up until when I got married in 1954 to Arthur Stroud.

"The book talks about how we huddled under the table when the sirens went off, how we struggled through rationing and even when a US aeroplane narrowly missed our roof and burst into flame near Mildenhall. I hope people like it."

Mrs Sheppard added: "This is a wonderful legacy mum will be leaving to her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren. I would encourage more elderly people to write their memoirs for future generations to read. That way they will live on in the minds of their descendants and never be forgotten."

To buy the book visit https://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/born-at-chopping-knife/id1233374365?mt=11