Alys Woodman was an accomplished painter, one of the Malvern school of artists, with several works exhibited. perhaps less well-known was her bravery during the Second World War when confronted by a German airman. Local family historian Chris Sutton, whose recent article on the 1939 National Register sparked much interest, looks back at events that night

ALICE Woodman lived at Kinley Cottage in Upper Welland. Her 1939 Register details tell us she was looking after her parents and she was born in 1897. Nothing more than that, but there was a lot more to Alice.

In the early hours of July 31 1942 dozens of Civil Defence members were out looking for four Luftwaffe crew. At about 2am a plane had been shot down and crashed near Malvern Wells Common. All four of the crew had managed to bale out and the hunt was on to find them.

Woodman was an air raid warden and had been on duty through the raid. Now, at 3.30am she was on her way home when she saw a figure approaching her, a figure in German uniform. She didn't panic or run but stood there as the man got closer.

He paused and said one word: "Kamerad (comrade)". Woodman repeated the word back to him and slowly put out her hand on the airman's shoulder. She then took his other hand and placed it on her bicycle and led him him into Upper Welland village.

Once there she blew her whistle and two surprised villagers came to her aid. One of them, Luther Hill, searched the airman for weapons but found none.

The Home Guard arrived and took the man, later found to be the plane's pilot officer. into custody. He was treated for a broken rib and cut chin at Malvern Hospital.

In his statement he referred to 'the man who arrested me' so it was thought that his willingness to surrender could have been partly due to mistake about who was in front of him.

That being said, there was no doubt that Woodman had shown nerves of steel and courage to stand her ground and arrest him.

It did not go unnoticed and the Chief Constable of Worcestershire wrote: "I respectfully suggest that the action of Miss Woodman is worthy of a commendation.

"Recognition of her conduct would not only be appreciated by Miss Woodman, but also by all other members of the Wardens Service in the Malverns."

Sadly the Ministry Of Home Security did not agree, they reviewed the incident and recommended no award was made.

Woodman was already a well-known figure in the area. Under her professional name of Alys Woodman she was an accomplished painter, one of the Malvern School of Artists, with several works exhibited.

Four of her paintings were shown at the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists. She is best known for her portrait work and her paintings are sought after by collectors. She died in 1987 aged 90 and is buried at Little Malvern Priory.

Her brush with an enemy airman is noted in the online lists of the Second World War Two Civil Defence Gallantry Awards.