Adrian Carton de Wiart: The Unkillable Soldier Who Enjoyed War
Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart was a remarkable war hero with a single eye and one hand, who participated in three major conflicts spanning six decades. He survived plane crashes and imprisonment in PoW camps, making his life story reminiscent of a tale from a Boy's Own comic.
Carton de Wiart served in the Boer War, World War One, and World War Two, enduring injuries such as losing his left eye from a gunshot to the face and sustaining wounds to his skull, hip, leg, ankle, and ear.
During World War One, he faced severe injuries on eight occasions and received mentions in despatches six times.
Despite having previously lost an eye and a hand in combat, Carton de Wiart displayed incredible bravery as a commanding officer. Witnessed by his troops, he pulled grenade pins with his teeth and threw them using his one remaining arm during the Battle of the Somme, earning the Victoria Cross.
According to WW1 historian Dr. Timothy Bowman, the example of Carton de Wiart is instrumental in dispelling certain myths:
"His story serves to remind us that not all British generals of WW1 were 'Chateau Generals' as portrayed in Blackadder. He exhibited heroism of the highest order.
"Evelyn Waugh supposedly used Carton de Wiart as the model for his fire-eating fictional creation, Brigadier Ritchie Hook, but Waugh's fictional creation experienced considerably fewer adventures than his real life counterpart."
Carton de Wiart's character is exemplified by the fact that, despite being one of the most battle-scarred soldiers in British Army history, he stated in his autobiography:
"Frankly, I had enjoyed the war."
Born into a noble family in Brussels on 5 May 1880, he was sent to a boarding school in England in 1891, where he later pursued a law degree at Oxford.
In 1899, he seized the chance to partake in his first military conflict. Forgoing his academic pursuits, he ventured to South Africa to enlist as a trooper in the British Army during the second Boer War. Despite being below the required age, not a British citizen, and lacking his father's approval, he assumed a false identity claiming to be 25 years old.
After a challenging initiation that left him wounded in the stomach and groin, he had to return to England. Despite his eagerness to return to action, he had to wait over ten years before getting back to the front lines.
When World War I broke out in November 1914, Carton de Wiart, now a British citizen, was fighting with the Somaliland Camel Corps against the Dervish state.
During an assault on an enemy stronghold, he was injured in the arm and face, resulting in the loss of his left eye and part of his ear. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) for his bravery.
In 1964, Lord Ismay, who served alongside Carton de Wiart in Somaliland, recounted the incident:
"He didn't check his stride but I think the bullet stung him up as his language was awful. The doctor could do nothing for his eye, but we had to keep him with us. He must have been in agony."
Lord Ismay also gave an insight into Carton de Wiart's innate love of fighting:
"I honestly believe that he regarded the loss of an eye as a blessing as it allowed him to get out of Somaliland to Europe where he thought the real action was."
Upon his return to England, he went to a nursing home in Park Lane to recuperate. Every time he got injured afterwards, he would come back to the same place. This happened so often that they always had his own pyjamas prepared for his next stay.
During his recovery from these injuries, Carton de Wiart was given a glass eye. It bothered him so much that he reportedly threw it out of a taxi and opted for a black eye patch instead.
Despite facing setbacks, he did not let them hinder him for long. He quickly achieved his goal of serving on the Western Front by being deployed to Ypres in May 1915.
While participating in the Second Battle of Ypres, he suffered a severe injury when the Germans initiated an artillery attack that shattered his left hand. In his autobiography, Happy Odyssey, he recounted the incident when he personally removed two fingers after the doctor declined to amputate them. Subsequently, his hand was amputated by a surgeon later in the same year.
After a period of recovery, Carton de Wiart once more managed to convince a medical board he was fit for battle. In 1916, he took command of the 8th Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, and while commanding them at the Somme his legend was cemented.
On 8 November, just three days before the end of the war, Carton de Wiart was given command of a brigade with the rank of temporary brigadier general. A.S. Bullock gives a vivid first-hand description of his arrival:
'Cold shivers went down the back of everyone in the brigade, for he had an unsurpassed record as a fire eater, missing no chance of throwing the men under his command into whatever fighting happened to be going.'
Bullock recalls how the battalion looked 'very much the worse for wear' when they paraded for the brigadier general's inspection. He arrived 'on a lively cob with his cap tilted at a rakish angle, and a shade over the place where one of his eyes had been'. He was also missing two limbs and had eleven wound stripes. Bullock, the first man in line for the inspection, notes that Carton de Wiart, despite having only one eye, ordered him to get his bootlace changed.
He inspired his soldiers with his eye patch, empty sleeve, and striking moustache, as well as his courage, becoming renowned among his men. They found his presence reassuring before heading into battle.
In the intense battle for the village of La Boiselle, the situation was constantly changing. With three commanding officers killed, Carton de Wiart assumed command of all units in the village, displaying leadership by personally leading the troops and repelling enemy attacks.
He received the Victoria Cross, the highest British military award for gallantry, for his actions at La Boiselle. He, however, declined to even mention the medal in his autobiography, later telling a friend that "it had been won by the 8th Glosters, for every man has done as much as I have".
He took part in a number of other offensives during the war, picking up more injuries. Mr A Holmes, who served as Carton de Wiart's "batman" or personal servant, told the 1964 BBC Home Service programme, In Our Time, how his commanding officer had a particularly lucky escape during another Somme offensive.
"They shifted us from Ypres then back on the Somme again to the Devil's Wood, and that's where the old man got shot through the back of the head. But fortunately it missed his spinal cord."
Certain historians argue that Carton de Wiart's courage sometimes verged on recklessness, which could have been the reason why he was not promoted to divisional command during WW1.
But Bowman believes there were mitigating factors. "He was a brave soldier and effective leader of men. He was well qualified to hold divisional command, but so were many others, and his habit of turning up in the front line and getting himself injured didn't bode well for his ability to manage a division.
"Given the primitive communications of the time, and the amount of bureaucracy involved, commanding a division in WW1 did involve a lot of office time, which didn't seem to be his forte."
Carton de Wiart resided in Poland for the majority of the inter-war period, however, his military service was far from finished. With the outbreak of World War Two, he commanded a campaign in Norway in 1940 and spent a short time stationed in Northern Ireland.
In April 1941, he was sent to establish a British military mission in Yugoslavia, but his plane was shot down in the Mediterranean. Upon reaching the shore after swimming, he was taken prisoner by the Italians. Despite being in his 60s, he tried multiple times to flee the prisoner of war camp, managing to avoid being caught again for eight days on one occasion - a remarkable achievement considering his recognisable looks and unfamiliarity with the Italian language.
Over two years later, he was eventually set free and subsequently appointed by Winston Churchill to serve as his personal envoy to Nationalist leader Chiang Kai-shek in China, a position he occupied until 1946.
Churchill was a firm admirer of Carton de Wiart, describing him as "a model of chivalry and honour" and writing the foreword to his autobiography.
In retirement, he eventually settled in County Cork, spending his time fishing. Having proved indestructible on the battlefield, he died peacefully in 1963, aged 83.
Military historian Lt Col James Cook, of the Royal Artillery, believes his example continues to resonate today.
"Carton de Wiart did have a habit of getting injured but this is simply testament to his belief of leading from the front. He inspired his men with the simple and eternal words, 'follow me'. These words remain the mark of a truly courageous leader, be it on the Western Front a hundred years ago, or today in military operations around the world."
Carton De Wiart was awarded the Victoria Cross for actions at La Boiselle. The Times newspaper carried the following notice on September 11, 1916.
"For the most conspicuous bravery, coolness and determination during severe operations of a prolonged nature. It was owing in a great measure to his dauntless courage and inspiring example that a serious reverse was averted. He displayed the utmost energy and courage in forcing our attack home. After three other battalion commanders had become casualties, he controlled their commands, and ensured that the ground won was maintained at all costs. He frequently exposed himself in the organisation of positions and of supplies, passing unflinchingly through fire barrage of the most intense nature. His gallantry was inspiring to all."