A soldier’s legacy: how a baby’s cry saved a family

It was early evening on Sunday 6 August 1944. The Allies’ bloody struggle to liberate Normandy from the Nazis had reached the village of Vaudry.

As gunfire broke out on a farm near the Pont du Vaudry, 40 members of one French family threw themselves into a trench next to the house. They pulled torn mattresses and tarpaulins over their heads; those sheltering ranged in age from very elderly grandparents to a four-week-old baby.

The lives of the Le Chevalliers hung in the balance as Allied and German bullets were exchanged just above their heads. The family had inadvertently made their situation yet more dangerous: the tarpaulins they hid under were distinctively German.

Peeping from beneath the coverings, several watched in horror as four British soldiers raised their hands to throw grenades. Then, just at that moment, the tiny baby, Martine, let out a loud cry.

They held their breath. What next? They never forgot their relief as the soldiers froze, before dropping their hands.