War rips so many families apart, but in Ashes to Accolades, Chippenham author Bill Sandiford shows what could happen to those that are sent away to safety.

In the aftermath of Hitler’s aerial attack on the Basque Country, the Aguirre family are torn apart. The desperate parents send their two young sons, Mikel and Gorka, on a refugee ship to England, never to see them again.

Struggling to make his way in a new life, Mikel develops a passion for guitar making. He falls in love, and before he knows it, his son, Javier, is born.

Impoverished, and now with a family to support, Mikel has nowhere to turn - until an unexpected offer sees him recruited into the British Intelligence Service. Returning in secret to his homeland, his life is suddenly overturned. Will he find his way back home? Will he be reunited with his wife and his son?

A passion for music, and a son’s longing for the father he never knew, lie at the heart of the story.

"You might say I'm a late developer," Chippenham-based Bill said.

"I found time in retirement to write a novel which draws on my love of music and shows a sympathetic understanding of the challenges facing child refugees from a war-torn country. I hope people draw some truth as well as some pleasure from reading it."

Ashes to Accolades continues for sixty years, spanning three generations. It is available online at www.troubador.co.uk

With emotional turmoil and deprivation, it is music that weaves its way through the plot to create a compelling book readers interested in history will find hard to put down.