 In December of the same year, her father died whilst the German soldiers were housed in their village.In February 1915, she created, in a basement, an improvised school for the local children.On 25 September, whilst Scottish soldiers of the Black Watch counter-attacked her village, Émilienne, who was only 17 years old, went to meet them and gave them the precise location of the German positions in a small, impregnable fort.