If we were confronted in our gardens by a 6ft 4in airman armed with a pistol, most of us would be tempted to turn and run.
But when farmer's wife Evelyn Cardwell spotted a German who was parachuting onto her land after his Junkers 88 was shot down by the crew of a Hurricane in the Second World War, she marched towards him and told him to put his hands up.
The story of the woman's incredible bravery in July 1940, which saw her rewarded with an MBE by King George VI, is recounted in book Faces of the Home Front 1939-1945, by historians Neil Storey and Fiona Kay.
With her husband away, Mrs Cardwell, 45, who was only 5ft 8in, had at first tried to call the authorities when she saw the German soldier in the sky above her home in the village of Aldborough, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, but then discovered the phone did not work.
Instead, she told one of her farmhands to go on his bicycle and alert the police, whilst she plucked up the courage to walk outside.
She told reporters how she put on her 'fiercest frown' and told the airman, who did not speak English, 'to put his hands up' before pointing to the automatic pistol on his hip to make him understand.
He is said to have 'smiled wryly' before handing the weapon over and was then marched by Mrs Cardwell along the nearby main road until police and soldiers arrived to take him away.
She became the first woman to capture a German airman in the Second World War.
Photos which were printed in the Daily Mail at the time show Mrs Cardwell posing with her dog and meeting the King, whilst another shows the flaming wreckage of the German's Junkers 88.
Evelyn Cardwell became the first woman to capture a German airman in the Second World War when a Junkers 88 was shot down over her home in Aldborough, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, in July 1940
Mrs Cardwell had been alerted to the airman's presence by one of her farm boys, who was reported to have rushed to her door to tell her that 'German parachutists are coming, mam'.
The German had been part of a crew of four in the Junkers 88 when it was shot down. Whilst the pilot was killed, three of the men had been able to bale out.
Mr Storey's book does not recount the fate of the other two men once they had landed.
Mrs Cardwell, who had been trained to think quickly in an emergency as part of her role in wartime organisation the Women's Voluntary Services, recounted her experience to the British media.
The German had been part of a crew of four in the Junkers 88 when it was shot down. Whilst the pilot was killed, three of the men had been able to bale out. Above: A photo of the wreckage of the plane
