The Government hastily constructed a National Defence strategy which involved every man, woman and child in the country.  It seemed obvious that the danger would be coming from the sea so everyone living within 15 miles of the coast was to be evacuated at the first sign of invasion. Farmers were key figures in this plan. They were ordered to release their male workers to fight a rear guard action alongside the Volunteers as a kind of "Home Guard". The farmers were to place their carts and draught animals at the disposal of the local parish priest who would use them to evacuate the women and children. Sheep and cattle were to be evacuated too so that they could  not be used to supplement the rations of the invaders.

The parish priests were ordered to identify some inland place which might be deemed to be safe and to make arrangements to travel to that place by drover's tracks and back lanes so as to leave the main routes clear for military use. Bell ringers were to practise ringing a special peal so that they could give warning to the neighbourhood to put the plans into action when invasion occurred and a chain of fire beacons, another early-warning system, was set up to run the length and breadth of the country. 

In theory, the Government's plans seem to have been well carried out in the County of Devon - in practice they were never used but there is no doubt that villages like Doddiscombsleigh could have mustered a well-organised response if they had been called upon.

Some twenty years after the invasion scare, the Reverend George Hole came across the original documents compiled by his uncle and predecessor, the Reverend Thomas Hole and made a copy which has survived to today.

Transcribed from a notebook belonging to George Hole, Rector of Doddiscombsleigh :

NAPOLEONIC PREPARATIONS - DODDISCOMBSLEIGH