My Four Years in a Frenchwoman's Cupboard, by Trooper Patrick Fowler | January 1915 | Episode 55

This astounding story of how an intensely brave and resourceful Frenchwoman sheltered from January 1915 to November 1918 a British soldier who had been cut off from his regiment at Le Cateau and wandered for four months, is told by the soldier himself, Trooper Patrick Fowler, late of the 11th Hussars. Fowler spent many weary hours hidden in a cupboard with German soldiers billeted in the same room. Over and over again he owed his life to the quick wit of Mme. Belmont- Gobert, who received a grant from the British Government and the Order of the British Empire. Her famous cupboard is now an exhibit in the Imperial War Museum.

Image of the wardrobe in which Trooper Patrick Fowler of the 11th Hussars was concealed from January 1915 to October 1918 by Mme Belmont-Gobert at Bertry, near Cambrai. The wardrobe was purchased by Sir Charles Wakefield and presented to the Imperial War Museum: Image courtesy IWM (Q 61741)