In the first world war he lost an eye and a hand in fierce fighting. He was shot and wounded eight times. In his whole life he was shot in the face, head, ankle, leg, hip and ear. He lost his left hand after being hit by shrapnel. This British soldier fought in both world wars. He had to wear a black patch for the rest of his life.
In the Battle of the Somme he was shot in the skull and ankle, but won the VC, the country’s most acclaimed military honor. He was the man who wrote of the 1914-1918 conflict: ‘Frankly, I enjoyed the war.’ Before losing his hand he tore off some damaged fingers by himself when a doctor wouldn't amputate them.
In the Battle of the Somme he was shot in the skull and ankle, but won the VC, the country’s most acclaimed military honor. He was the man who wrote of the 1914-1918 conflict: ‘Frankly, I enjoyed the war.’ Before losing his hand he tore off some damaged fingers by himself when a doctor wouldn't amputate them.
In the second world war, he fought as an officer. He survived a plane crash in the Med and escaped from a PoW camp.
Born in 1880 to a wealthy Belgian family, he studied law at Oxford but in 1899 quit university and went to South Africa. He retired in 1947 and died in 1963, aged 83.
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