Robert Digby was born in 1885 in Northwich, Cheshire, the son of Robert & Ellen Digby. Robert senior was a colonial soldier serving in India, but was seriously injured in a hunting accident. Ellen Digby was a fishmonger’s daughter from Northwich, and Robert junior was born while the family were on home leave in England. His younger siblings, Thomas and Florence were born in Bengal, before Colonel Digby was sent home in 1908. His injury was such that he had been invalided out of the army, and the family settled in Totton in Hampshire.

As with many returning colonial families, the Digby’s had few home ties, and little connection with Hampshire. Robert Digby junior was restless and tried his hand at various jobs, horse trainer, chicken farmer and a spell as a waiter in Paris, where he learned to speak French. A skill which would serve him well later on.

When WW1 started in August 1914, the Hampshires were one of the regiments which comprised the British Expeditionary Force, and they were sent immediately to Belgium and France for the early engagements with the German Army at Mons.

Some historical accounts depict the Battle of Mons, and the retreat to Le Cateau, as an orderly, managed affair, others suggest it was anything but. A Times Correspondent wrote, ‘Amongst all the straggling units that I have seen, flotsam and jetsam in the fiercest fight in history, I saw fear in no man’s face. It was a retreating and broken army, but it was not an army of hunted men…Our losses are very great, I have seen the broken bits of many regiments.’ One of the broken bits was the 1st Hampshires, and Private Robert Digby, who had fled after a huge force of German soldiers had swept towards them across a muddy beet field near Haucourt.

The depleted battalion moved south and 300 men briefly held the village of Ligny, before another retreat, leaving Private Robert Digby behind as walking wounded with a bullet wound to his left forearm on 26th August 1914. Digby later wrote, ‘When I emerged from the aid post tent, I had lost an Army…they had simply marched off without me.’ He had also lost his Lee Enfield Rifle, haversack and soft peaked cap, typical of the 1914 pattern uniform.

His options were to surrender to the Germans, or to try to locate his unit. At that time, rumours swirled of German atrocities, pillage, rape and the murder of innocent civilians, and shooting wounded British soldiers as they surrendered. Whatever the truth, Digby decided to move south and west in the hope of rejoining the 1st Hampshires. Here, he met up with another lost British soldier, Private John Sligo, a welshman from the Somerset Light Infantry. He too had been slightly wounded, and was now trying to make his way back to his unit. The two men had met after soliciting the help of the local priest in the village of Gouy, the Abbe Morelle, who had rebandaged their wounds.

As they left Gouy in the direction of Le Catelet, they were spotted by a squad of mounted German dragoons, who pursued the two men up the hill and through the village into open land towards a dense wood between Le Catelet and Villeret. Digby, a keen sportsmen, and only lightly wounded, plunged into the dense undergrowth. Sligo was caught by the leading cavalryman and shot dead.

The dragoons rode up and down the outside of the wood, looking for Digby, but the underbrush was too dense for their horses. According to villagers, ‘after a while they rode away leaving the dead soldier in the field.’ Private John Sligo was buried in Villeret Old Cemetery, the first of 19 to be buried there between 1914 and 18, as the area saw sustained action later in the war too.

Digby wasn’t the only soldier lost behind enemy lines. A trio consisting of William Thorpe, a Liverpudlian from the Royal Lancaster Regiment, and Privates Thomas Donohoe and David Martin, both of the Royal Irish Fusiliers, were hiding in dense woodland nearby. At one point, the band of fugitive soldiers numbered nine, but two escaped towards Holland, and one was caught by the Germans trying to escape towards the East.

For three weeks, the soldiers lived in the open in an old quarry, eating raw vegetables and autumn berries, scavenged from hedgerows. By all accounts, they were cold, wet, and beginning to fall ill, earlier wounds notwithstanding. The soldiers were discovered and taken in by local landowner Jeanne Magniez, who lived in a chateau to the north of Villeret. For a short time, she housed the men in a small cottage on her land, called La Pecherie. By now, the soldiers had buried their uniforms, and were wearing ordinary civilian clothes. Whilst this helped them to move around more easily, if caught they may be arrested and shot as spies.

It was known among people in the village that some British soldiers had been trapped behind the German lines. The French villagers felt duty bound to protect and help their Allies, but how? And what would happen to them – both villagers and soldiers – if they were found out?

Major Evers, the local German Commandant, was a small town bully and crook, and would clearly stop at nothing to ensure that no British soldiers were hidden in his district. Following a meeting with the village elders, Jeanne Magniez and the local mayor Parfait Marie, agreed that a new plain was needed. The soldiers should be hidden ‘in plain sight’ among the villagers – and pass themselves off as farm hands. Whilst Robert Digby hid in a tiny room in a villager’s cottage, as a french-speaker, he was able to move around more easily than the other three. Thorpe only had to open his mouth to be identified as ‘not French’, whilst Donohoe was tall, with auburn hair and looked rather out of place among the locals. Martin was suffering with fever and was carefully tended to by Donohoe. Despite being in the same regiment, the two men had barely known each other, and came from opposite sides of the religious divide. They soon became firm friends but had to stay out of sight as much as possible.

As it was, Digby came to be taken under the wing of the Desenne family. Jules Desenne and his wife Eugenie and daughter Claire, lived in Villeret with the matriarch, Marie-Coulette, one of the best-known, and perhaps most-feared, characters in the village. They were intrigued by this charismatic Englishman who spoke good French, and seemed to be well-educated and sensitive. He was acutely aware of the danger his presence posed for the local villagers.

The Desenne’s daughter Claire was only 19 years-old, and widely regarded as the prettiest young woman in the village. Before long, she and Robert Digby, ten years her senior, had embarked on a passionate relationship, and by spring 1915, Claire Desenne was pregnant with Digby’s child.

As in any small village, long-held enmities between various families existed. The Lelong family, who ran the bakery looked down their noses at the Desennes. The village postman, Achelle Poette was a gossip, and had long held Claire Desenne as the object of his affections, which, sadly for him, were not returned. Whilst Claire’s cousin, Marie Sauvage, whose husband Richard was away at the front, also fell pregnant, most likely to a German soldier stationed in the village. Suzanne Boitelle, who housed Digby, was the love child of an illicit affair between her mother Celine, and an unknown pedlar, and after she had died, had been brought up by her half-sister, Elise Lelong, wife of Leon, the baker. The Lelong’s also looked down their noses at the Boitelles.

In this complex mix of war, food shortages and village blood feuds, the arrival of four foreign soldiers, one of whom begins an affair with one of the most eligible girls in the village, set neighbour against neighbour. Robert Digby with his ability to speak French, was well aware of these issues, and impressed upon the other three the delicate position they were in.

Willie Thorpe, a family man, became the favourite of local children, doing conjuring tricks, and earning himself the nickname ‘Papa’. David Martin and Thomas Donohoe grew long moustaches, all the better to blend in with the local men, and took their turn in the fields tending the crops. Martin was also a skilled cook, and did what he could to contribute to feeding the villagers, whilst Donohoe was cheeky and lively, and learned enough of the local Artois dialect to flirt with the young girls.

But as time went on, some villagers began to question the risks they were taking in sheltering the soldiers. The mayor, Parfait Marie, agreed with Eugenie Desenne, Claire’s mother, that it was ‘better to live with the invaders, then die by defying them’. Elise Lelong observed that Claire Desenne had brought about her own downfall, and forbade her daughter Clothilde from speaking to her.

Things came to a head when in May 1915, eighty-two villagers were sent away by transport to Lille, St Quentin and as far away as the Swiss border. Some would not return for 3 years or more and some would decide to set up home elsewhere for good. Some felt that the villagers had been forced to leave, others that they had made a choice. While a few observed that the situation had not changed, and the chance discovery of the British soldiers by Major Evers still posed the greatest risk to the village, notably Parfait Marie, the mayor, who would be held personally responsible.

On the 14th November 1915, Claire Desenne gave birth to a healthy baby girl. Digby wanted to name her Ellen after his mother, but this was felt to be too obviously British, so the girl was named Helene. ‘We were proud of that little girl, she belonged to the whole village…’ said one, while another observed, ‘What was an English soldier doing fathering bastards with French girls, when he should’ve been fighting the Germans?’

Helene’s birth coincided with the close of the Battle of Loos, which had been dragging on since late September, and drew to a muddy finale in mid-October, just 50 miles to the west. Villeret was suddenly swollen with exhausted, battle drained troops, an entirely different occupying force to the one they had been used to. Barns were confiscated, houses occupied, officers were billeted with families, and chateaux, such as that owned by Jeanne Magniez (who had hidden the soldiers in a cottage on her estate) were entirely taken over by the Germans.

On 30th March 1916, Major Evers issued a long proclamation, in summary offering any enemy soldier until 30th April to give themselves up, or risk incurring the full force of German military law, including those local people who had helped them.

Only Digby, the new father, opted to stay, the others attempted to escape, guided by a local poacher, but were back within two days, as the area was swarming with German troops and quite impassable.

In desperation, Leon Lelong the baker, and Parfait Marie the mayor, half-pleaded with and half threatened the men to leave the village.

Despite Claire’s tears at Robert’s departure, the following night, guided by Lucien Lelong, the baker’s son; Digby, Thorpe, Donohoe and Martin set out to try to cross the German lines to the west near Peronne, and reach the British. They couldn’t get near the front line, and were back in Villeret within 3 days.

At dawn on 16th May, a squad of German military police marched into Villeret and searched the hayloft behind a house in the main street. They searched no other homes, as they knew exactly where to look. They arrested Thorpe, Donohoe and Martin without a struggle, but Digby escaped from the window and ran to Trocme woods.

The police returned later and arrested the Mayor, Parfait Marie, the Lelong’s, Claire’s grandfather - Florency Desenne, Suzanne Boitelle, who had housed Digby, and Achille Poette, the postman.

Following a hasty military court, Thorpe, Donohoe and Martin were sentenced to death by firing squad. The villagers who had aided them received between 18 months and 10 years hard labour, and fines totalling several thousand francs. Some thought the sentences scandalous, others thought they were somewhat lenient, given the dire threats made by Major Evers.

Had the soldiers and the villagers been betrayed? And had the betrayer struck a deal for clemency? But what of Robert Digby? The hapless fugitive had spent five days hiding in the woods, evading the German searches, and a guard had been placed on Claire Desenne’s home. The mayor’s elderly father, Emile Marie, went looking for Digby. Despite being over 70, and in poor health, he found him one night in the woods, just south west of Villeret, and told him what had happened. He urged Digby to give himself up, and promised that ‘Ever’s had agreed to spare his life’ if he surrendered promptly – but had also promised ‘reprisals against those who had helped him’.

Whoever had betrayed them to the Germans had told Evers about Digby, his lover and her child. Digby clearly understood that Evers was making a threat to the two people he most cared about – Claire and Helene. Perhaps Digby was resourceful enough to have made a solo escape; he might have made it to neutral Holland. Maybe he feared for Claire and Helene if he did not give himself up. Either way, he had no reason to believe Ever’s hollow promise to spare him execution. However, he had little choice but to accept his fate.

On 22nd May he walked into Villeret to surrender to the German garrison. Claire did not have to watch his lonely walk. She had been rounded up with other villagers and sent into the fields to work. Digby was charged with espionage, which he denied, but was sentenced to death anyway.

On the 27th May, Thorpe, Donohoe and Martin were tied to posts under the ruined rampart of the medieval castle walls near the church in Le Catelet. They were executed, with Donohoe and Martin dying instantly. The presiding German officer was required to admit the coup de grace to the wounded Thorpe. They were buried in the churchyard at Le Catelet, and a plaque commemorating their execution was later affixed to the walls beneath the ramparts.

Although the villagers had been forbidden to see the soldiers, or attend their execution, the following morning the three graves were piled high with wreaths, bouquets, posies and bunches of fresh wild flowers. By afternoon the graves were entirely obscured, and the Germans placed a guard on the churchyard to prevent visits by other defiant well-wishers.

Digby spent his final hours alone in his cell. He wrote letters to his mother, to Claire’s mother, Eugenie, and a final letter to Claire:

"My darling Claire, this is the last letter of my life. I am condemned to die by firing squad at five past ten tonight. Farewell and never forget Robert, who dies happy and satisfied for France and for my own country. I kiss you. Embrace my baby girl and later when she is grown, tell her the truth about her father, who has died contented. Farewell, your loving Robert".

On 30th May 1916, to the sound of roosting birdsong in the trees, Private Robert Digby of the 1st Hampshire Regiment, was executed by firing squad. His last wish, to be buried in Villeret was refused, and he was buried some distance away from Thorpe, Donohoe and Martin in Le Catelet.

Major Evers, angered by public emotion over the executed men, gave orders that no more than one wreath could be placed on each grave or a fine would be imposed. Taking him at his word, four enormous wreaths, several feet across, and requiring more than two men to carry each were placed on the four graves.

Following the Battles of Verdun and The Somme, the German High Command accepted it could no longer hold a secure front line in that region. During the winter and early Spring of 1916/17, one of the coldest on record, they prepared to move back to the newly constructed ‘Seigfreidstellung’ later better known to allied soldiers as The Hindenburg Line. It stretched for 90 miles north to south and was between 2 and 30 miles behind the existing front line.

As part of the preparation, the Germans destroyed, burned and ransacked many villages on the path from the old front line to the new, including Villeret and Le Catelet. Claire, her daughter Helene, her grandmother and other villagers were rounded up and forced to march to a resettlement camp near Revin in the Ardennes in Belgium. And they remained for eighteen months, until American and Australian troops liberated the villages in September 1918.

After the Armistice, some of the villagers returned to Villeret and Le Catelet while others did not. Those who had been taken prisoner were released and repatriated, but some felt that there was little to return to.

Chinese Labour Divisions worked to rebuild the villages, and in 1920, Villeret was awarded the Croix du Guerre. Claire Desenne and her daughter Helene Digby did return. She kept Robert’s letters, a grainy photograph, and his army issue French phrasebook. At weekends, mother and daughter would visit his grave in Le Catelet.

Thomas Digby, Robert’s brother, formally adopted Helene, but their mother Ellen never replied to Robert’s letter, written shortly before his death, or publicly admitted that her late son had fathered a daughter.

Descendants of the the Lelongs, the Maries, the Desennes and others still live in the area. Claire died aged 79 in 1974, perhaps believing that Emile Marie, the father of the mayor had been the betrayer, but others were not so sure. Helene Digby married before WW2 but had to endure 5 years of separation from her husband Hubert, when he was sent into forced labour in Germany. She lived on in Villeret, dying aged 90 in 2005, but she contributed her own recollections of the story to Times journalist Ben MacIntyre, for his book, 'A Foreign Field', from which some of this information is taken.