Emilienne Moreau and the Scottish soldiers in Loos

"Emilienne ran down the stairs, out of the house, and towards the tombs. She saw what looked like "strange beings with enormous eyes" who seemed to have pipes for noses. And to top it off, these strange creatures were wearing skirts. They were Scottish soldiers wearing kilts and gas masks: the Highlanders of the Ninth Black Watch, so named because their kilts were dark.

Emilienne, who didn't speak English, frantically tried to make one of the officers understand that his men were walking towards their deaths. She offered to guide them in such a way that they would avoid the gun nests in the tower bridge and the long slag heap.

With Emilienne's help the Scottish troops moved safely around the gun nests and took them out..."


Excerpt from "Emilienne Moreau: The Teen Who Became a National Symbol" from Women Heroes of World War I: 16 Remarkable Resisters, Soldiers, Spies, and Medics.