Woman uncovers aunt's heroic WWII effort to hide stranded commandos from Nazis

Résumé détaillé

79-year-old Liz Walton discovered her aunt sheltered British soldiers on occupied Guernsey while German troops lived next door.

A woman has discovered the amazing wartime role her auntie played when she risked her life hiding British commandos during WW2.

Liz Walton, 79, discovered her auntie Ada Le Poidevin sheltered three British soldiers after they were left behind during a raid on Nazi-occupied Guernsey in 1940, despite German troops living next door.

In July that year, Corporal Dennis Dumper, Private Fred Drain and Private Andrew Ross were left stranded on the island without food or shelter. Ada and her husband Walter stepped in, hiding them in their garden shed despite the potentially severe consequences if they were discovered.

Liz said: “There were huge risks because there were Germans living next door, and people were being sent off to concentration camps – they were terrified of being caught.

“It must have been absolutely horrendous for people like my aunt, who had been involved in the First World War just relatively few years before, and then 20 years later to have the Germans actually in their homes.”

After several days, the soldiers realised they had little choice but to surrender to the Nazis and were taken as prisoners of war.

All three survived the conflict and later moved to London, but remained close to Ada and Walter, regularly returning to Guernsey to visit them and even attending the couple's Golden Wedding celebration.

It was the second time Ada had put herself in danger during wartime, having spent two years supporting British troops in France during WW1, where camps she worked in came under enemy fire and suffered heavy shell damage.

Now her story has been pieced together by Liz using a treasure trove of photographs and diaries alongside records on Ancestry.com.

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