little girl was no doubt delighted when her father brought the doll back from France. But, that was over a hundred years ago and it’s a gift tinged with sadness.

The girl in question was Caroline Gregory’s aunt.

Caroline’s grandfather Frank Wilmington, from Ottery St Mary, was a soldier during World War One who died in the conflict.

Tomorrow (Saturday), the doll with the tragic past will be one of the objects shown as part of a war memorabilia exhibition at Newton Poppleford Village Hall, which will be open from 10am until 4pm.

Caroline’s husband Terry has been filling up their front room with memorabilia from the two world wars contributed by villagers. There are medals, uniforms, ID cards, telegrams and much more.

The exhibition is organised by the local history group.

Terry said: “I’ve been gathering the exhibits since the beginning of the year, so it’s been starting to get a bit out of hand.”