In the annals of military history, few figures loom as large as Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart. A veteran of numerous conflicts across the first half of the 20th century, Carton de Wiart‘s life reads like a Hollywood screenplay – one filled with daring exploits, brushes with death, and triumphs against all odds. Yet this remarkable man was no fictional hero, but a flesh-and-blood soldier whose indomitable spirit and courage in the face of adversity made him a legend in his own time.
Early Life and Mystery of His Parentage
Adrian Carton de Wiart was born into an aristocratic family in Brussels, Belgium on 5 May 1880. However, a cloud of mystery hangs over his true parentage. Many biographers and historians believe he was the illegitimate son of King Leopold II of Belgium, a claim Carton de Wiart himself neither confirmed nor explicitly denied. In his memoirs, Happy Odyssey, he wrote with characteristic wry humor:
"Owing to the irregularity of my birth, my father had been unable to marry my mother, and was now engaged in making arrangements to marry somebody else. It was this, I feel, that made me a rotten candidate for the position of crown prince, apart from other considerations."
Regardless of the truth of his royal lineage, the young Adrian was destined for a life of adventure from the start.
Baptism by Fire: The Boer War and First Wounds
Carton de Wiart began his military career in 1899, enlisting in the British Army under a false name and age to fight in the Boer War in South Africa. It was here that he got his first taste of combat – and his first serious injury, a grave wound to the chest that sent him home to recuperate.
But he was not one to be deterred by a mere brush with death. In 1901, the young soldier returned to South Africa to serve with the Second Imperial Light Horse and 4th Dragoon Guards, eager to continue the fight. This early experience set the tone for Carton de Wiart‘s military career – one marked by incredible bravery, resilience in the face of injury, and an almost insatiable appetite for battle.
World War I: The Stuff of Legend
It was during the First World War that Carton de Wiart truly cemented his status as a military legend. In 1914, while attacking a fort in British Somaliland, he suffered a grievous injury that would have ended the career of a lesser man – a bullet to the face that cost him his left eye.
Undaunted, Carton de Wiart continued to serve, now sporting a distinctive black eyepatch that would become a part of his iconic image. In 1915, he joined the fighting on the Western Front, where he would distinguish himself time and again through acts of incredible valor – and rack up an astonishing tally of injuries.
Over the course of the war, Carton de Wiart was shot in the skull, ankle, hip, leg, and ear. He lost a hand to an explosion, but not before tearing off his own damaged fingers when a doctor refused to amputate. Bits of shrapnel would continue to work their way out of his body for years after the war.
Despite these grievous wounds, Carton de Wiart fought on with a fervor that astonished his comrades. In his memoirs, he famously wrote of his WW1 experience:
"Frankly I had enjoyed the war. … It had given me many bad moments, lots of good ones, plenty of excitement and much cause for laughter."
His most celebrated moment came during the Battle of the Somme in July 1916. With his commanding officers dead or incapacitated, Carton de Wiart took command of three battalions, leading from the front despite heavy casualties. His "energy and courage" in "forcing home the attack" earned him the Victoria Cross, Britain‘s highest military honor.
The official citation for his VC reads:
"For most conspicuous bravery, coolness and determination during severe operations of a prolonged nature. […] He displayed throughout the utmost valour."
By the end of the war, Carton de Wiart had been wounded a total of eight times, lost an eye and a hand, and earned a reputation as one of the bravest soldiers in the British Army. But his service to king and country was far from over.
World War II and Prisoner of War
When World War II broke out in 1939, the 59-year-old Carton de Wiart, now a lieutenant general, immediately volunteered for service. After briefly commanding the 61st Division in the British Expeditionary Force, he was appointed as head of the British Military Mission to Yugoslavia in April 1941.
En route to his new post, Carton de Wiart‘s plane crash-landed off the coast of Italian-controlled Libya. Despite suffering broken bones, he swam to shore – only to be captured by Italian forces. Thus began a new chapter in his wartime odyssey: life as a prisoner of war.
Held in a special officers‘ camp in Italy, Carton de Wiart proved as indomitable in captivity as he was on the battlefield. Over the next two and a half years, he made five escape attempts, once even tunneling for seven months in a bid for freedom. Another time, he managed to evade his captors for eight days disguised as an Italian peasant, despite not speaking a word of Italian.
His repeated escape attempts so frustrated his Italian captors that they petitioned the Swiss government to take him off their hands. The Swiss, however, declined the offer, replying that they "already had too many British Generals". Finally, in August 1943, with the collapse of Mussolini‘s government, Carton de Wiart was repatriated to Britain.
Churchill‘s Representative in China
Carton de Wiart‘s wartime service was still not over. In 1943, Prime Minister Winston Churchill personally appointed the 63-year-old general as his special representative to Nationalist China, then under assault by Imperial Japan.
In this diplomatic role, Carton de Wiart served as a vital liaison between the British government and Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, leader of the Chinese Nationalist forces. He worked to coordinate Allied military strategy against the Japanese and to keep China in the war on the Allied side.
It was a challenging post, navigating complex geopolitical tensions and military realities. But Carton de Wiart applied the same determination and fortitude that had served him so well on the battlefield. He remained in China until 1946, witnessing the end of World War II and the beginning of the Chinese Civil War.
Legacy and Lasting Impact
Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart retired from the army in 1947 after a military career spanning nearly five decades and service in a staggering number of conflicts across the globe. His life and exploits had become the stuff of legend, inspiring admiration from fellow soldiers and civilians alike.
Some literary scholars believe that Carton de Wiart was the model for the character of Brigadier Ben Ritchie-Hook in Evelyn Waugh‘s Sword of Honour trilogy. Waugh, who served under Carton de Wiart in Yugoslavia, once described him as "a figure of the kind that might be invoked in a rather outmoded type of poetry".
But Carton de Wiart was more than just a soldier‘s soldier or a literary inspiration. His life and service embodied the ideals of duty, courage, and sacrifice that defined a generation of military men in the early 20th century.
At a time when the world was convulsed by two catastrophic global conflicts, Carton de Wiart stood as a shining example of resilience and determination in the face of unimaginable adversity. His willingness to endure pain, hardship and injury in service of a greater cause speaks to a kind of selfless heroism that transcends time and place.
In the words of Field Marshal Earl Wavell:
"I have always felt that in a tight place I would rather have Carton de Wiart by my side than any other six men I can think of."
When asked about the secret of his incredible endurance and fortitude, Carton de Wiart responded with characteristic humility:
"In all these various wars and campaigns, I never once had the feeling that I was going to die. I had been so very lucky during the First World War surviving so many dangers, that I had the feeling that nothing could ever happen to me. Anyhow, as a Roman poet puts it, ‘He who is born for hanging is safe from drowning.‘"
Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart passed away on 5 June 1963 at the age of 83. He had lived a life that seemed to defy belief, one filled with more adventure, danger, and acts of valor than most could dream of. Yet through it all, he remained a humble servant of his country, dedicated to the end.
His legacy endures as a testament to the indomitable human spirit and the heights of courage and sacrifice that individuals are capable of in times of great trial. In an age of uncertainty and conflict, the story of Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart reminds us of the timeless values of duty, honor, and unwavering resolve in the face of adversity.
