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Throughout history, there have been some truly

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remarkable people who have done some truly

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remarkable things. And one

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such person was Adrian Carton de

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Wiart. And if you don't know who

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he is, that's okay. Because

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by the end of this episode, you will surely

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remember his story, if not his name. He

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was courageous, a little bit

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insane, and extremely hard to kill. Learn

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more about Adrian Carton de Wiart and

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his incredible life on this episode of

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Everything Everywhere Daily. This

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I've done episodes on some truly remarkable

2:51

people. Robert Smalls, who was born

2:53

into slavery, stole a Confederate ship and went

2:55

on to serve in the United States Congress.

2:58

There was Joseph Medicine Crow, who met all

3:00

the requirements to become a Crow Nation war

3:02

chief while serving in Europe in World

3:04

War II. And let's

3:06

not forget Mad Jack Churchill, who went to

3:08

battle during the Second World War with a

3:10

long bow and a broad sword. However,

3:13

none of them have a story

3:16

quite like that of Adrian Carton

3:18

de Veer. And I'm

3:20

gonna do something unusual and start with the end

3:22

of the story first. The

3:24

end of the story is that Adrian Carton

3:26

de Veer died peacefully on June 5th, 1963,

3:28

at the age of 83 at

3:33

his home in County Cork, Ireland. The

3:36

only reason why the facts surrounding his death are

3:38

noteworthy is because, as you will soon see, there

3:40

is no reason why this man should have ever

3:43

lived to the age of 83. At

3:46

pretty much any point in his life, if

3:48

someone had taken the odds, they would have

3:51

been overwhelmingly against him reaching this age. The

3:54

subject of our story was born Adrian

3:57

Paul Ghislaine Carton de Veer on May

3:59

5th, 1880 in Brussels,

4:01

Belgium. His father was an

4:03

aristocratic Belgian who served as a lawyer and

4:05

a magistrate, and his mother was

4:07

Irish. He grew up in

4:09

England and Belgium until his mother passed away when he

4:11

was just six years old. His

4:13

father then moved the family to Cairo where he

4:15

served as an attorney and as the director of

4:18

a company, and while he was there, Adrian

4:20

learned how to speak Arabic. At

4:22

the age of 11, he was sent to a

4:25

Catholic boarding school in England, and from there he

4:27

went to attend Oxford University. However,

4:29

he never completed his studies at Oxford.

4:32

In 1899, at the age of just 19, he went off to war. Adrian

4:37

wanted to take part in the Second Boer War, which

4:40

was being fought in South Africa. As

4:42

he was not a British citizen and was only 19, which

4:45

was too young for overseas service, he

4:47

lied about his age, provided a fake name

4:49

of Trooper Carton, and then joined the army.

4:53

Soon after arriving in South Africa, he suffered

4:55

what would be his first major wounds. He

4:58

was shot in both the stomach and the groin.

5:01

He was sent back to England to recuperate. His

5:04

injuries were a shock to his father, who

5:06

had no idea that he had abandoned his

5:08

studies at Oxford and had joined the army.

5:11

The injuries he sustained might have meant

5:13

the end of military service for many

5:15

men, but not for Adrian. He

5:18

returned to South Africa, was promoted to lieutenant,

5:20

and received the position as an aide-de-camp to

5:22

the head of the British forces in the

5:24

region. In 1907, after

5:27

having served in the British military for

5:29

eight years, he officially became a British subject.

5:32

The next year in 1908, he

5:34

married the daughter of an Austrian

5:36

aristocrat, the Countess Frederica Maria Caroline

5:38

Henrietta Rosa Sabina Francisco Fugger von

5:41

Babenhausen. The years before

5:43

the First World War were great for him.

5:45

He rose through the ranks, traveled through Europe

5:47

on his leaves, and, according to him, simply

5:49

enjoyed his life. In

5:51

1914, he was sent to Somaliland to

5:53

put down a revolt by Mohammed Bin

5:55

Abdullah, whom the British had dubbed the

5:57

Mad Mula. The

6:00

route to Somaliland. Britain entered the

6:02

First World War. During

6:05

an attack on a foreign Somaliland,

6:07

Adrian was shot twice again. This.

6:09

Time in the face. One bullet resulted

6:12

in the loss of and I and

6:14

the other took part of his year.

6:17

When he was taken to the hospital he was fitted

6:19

with a glass I. However, he found

6:21

the glass eye to be so uncomfortable that

6:23

he reportedly just took it out one day

6:25

while riding in a taxi. Threw

6:27

it out the window. And worn eyepatch for

6:30

the rest of his life. For

6:32

his actions and Somaliland, he was

6:34

awarded the Distinguished Service Order. Again,

6:37

once someone had lost an eye and combat

6:39

and had served in the military for fifteen

6:42

years, that would probably be the end of

6:44

their career. The letter

6:46

Adrian was just getting started. Lord

6:49

is who fought alongside Current of Years

6:51

and Somaliland. Said quote: I honestly believe

6:53

that he regarded the loss of an

6:56

eye as a blessing as it allowed

6:58

him to get out of Somaliland to

7:00

Europe where he thought the real action

7:03

was. And. Quote. Despite

7:05

the loss of his eyes, he was assigned to

7:07

active duty on the Western Front. He

7:10

commanded several units, including three different brigades

7:12

and a battalion. It

7:14

may nineteen fifteen during the second battle

7:16

of Zebra, Person to veered suffered his

7:18

greatest injury. During a German

7:20

artillery bombardment, he was hit with fractal

7:22

in his left arm. The

7:25

shrapnel devastate or disarm and his

7:27

hand. His wristwatch was literally embedded

7:29

into his wrist. His hand was

7:31

so mangled that to this fingers

7:33

were just hanging by the skin.

7:36

When he was taken to the hospital, he told

7:38

the doctor attending to him to amputate his fingers.

7:40

But. The doctor refused to do so. So

7:43

in a move that has come to define him.

7:46

He tore to of the fingers off

7:48

his own hand by himself. The

7:51

injuries were so severe that later in the

7:53

year, most of his arm was amputated to

7:55

prevent the infection from spreading. Getting

7:58

shot in the stomach. The grind didn't

8:00

stop him. Losing. An iron part

8:02

of his ear didn't deter him. So.

8:05

Losing his left arm was not going to stop

8:07

him either. He returned to

8:09

the front with only one arm and one

8:11

I. In. Eighteen

8:13

sixteen at the Battle of the Somme. He

8:16

didn't let his disability holding back. The.

8:18

Soldiers in his unit recalled him pulling the

8:20

pins from grenades with his teeth and throwing

8:22

them with his good hand. He

8:25

was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest

8:27

honor in the British military, a metal

8:30

that can be easily distinguished by it's

8:32

purple color. Is commendation

8:34

for the Victoria Cross read quote

8:36

for most conspicuous bravery, coolness and

8:38

determination during severe operations of a

8:41

prolonged nature. It was owing and

8:43

great measure to is doubtless courage

8:45

and inspiring example that a serious

8:47

reverse was averted. He displayed the

8:49

utmost energy, encourage and forcing our

8:51

attack home. After. Three

8:53

other battalion commanders had become casualties. He

8:55

controlled their commands and ensured that the

8:58

ground one was maintained at all costs.

9:01

He frequently exposed himself in the

9:03

organization of positions and of supplies,

9:05

passing unflinchingly through fire barrage of

9:08

the most intense nature. His gallantry

9:10

was inspiring to all. And.

9:12

Quote. Later at

9:15

the battle the Somme, he was shot again.

9:17

Once. In the skull and once and the ankle.

9:20

And once again, despite getting shot twice

9:22

in receiving the Victoria cross, he went

9:24

back to the front. In

9:26

the spring of nineteen Seventeen, he was shot again

9:29

at the Battle of A Ross. Any loss, what

9:31

was remaining of his last year. He

9:33

went back to the hospital and went back

9:35

to the front. Later. That

9:37

year, at the Battle of Passchendaele he was shot

9:39

again, this time in the hip. He

9:41

went back to the hospital and then went

9:43

back to the front. Near.

9:46

The end of the war and late nineteen eighteen

9:48

at the battle of Com Break, he was shot

9:50

once again in the leg. After.

9:53

All of his injuries he was always sent

9:55

to the Sir Douglas Shields nursing Home in

9:57

England. and he became such a

9:59

regular that a running joke amongst the staff

10:01

that they always kept a pair of his pajamas on

10:03

hand for the next time that he would show up.

10:06

And for those of you keeping count, he was

10:09

shot eight times, not including the shrapnel that caused

10:11

him to lose his arm. In

10:14

his autobiography, he later said of his

10:16

experience during the First World War, quote,

10:19

frankly, I enjoyed the war. Supposedly,

10:23

for the rest of his life, little bits

10:25

of metal would occasionally fall out of his

10:27

body. During

10:29

the war, he was officially and temporarily

10:31

promoted, eventually reaching the rank of Brigadier

10:34

General. So

10:36

at this point, surely he could

10:38

enjoy his well-earned retirement. Nope.

10:42

After the war, he continued in the

10:44

military, serving as the commander of the

10:46

British-Poland military mission. After

10:48

the war, Poland constantly had to fend off

10:50

their neighbors. They had border conflicts

10:52

with the Soviet Union, Lithuania, Ukraine, and the

10:55

Czechs. While

10:57

flying over Lithuania, his plane

10:59

crashed and he survived. He

11:01

wound up spending time in a Lithuanian prison. In

11:05

August of 1920, when the Red Army was

11:07

approaching Warsaw, his observation train was attacked and

11:09

he found himself in a firefight firing

11:12

his pistol from the train with just

11:14

one arm. Finally,

11:16

in 1922, he retired to an estate

11:19

in Poland near the Soviet border with

11:21

the rank of Major General. He

11:24

served as an advisor to the Polish government up to

11:26

the invasion of Poland in 1939. Just

11:29

weeks before the German invasion, he had advised

11:31

the Polish commander-in-chief to move his forces back

11:33

to a more defensible position. They

11:36

actually ignored most of his advice, but they

11:39

did pull the Polish Navy out of the

11:41

Baltic Sea, which allowed them to operate throughout

11:43

the war. When

11:45

the invasion of Poland began, Carton

11:47

de Wiert had to flee south to

11:49

Romania, and as he fled, his

11:52

vehicle was attacked by a German fighter, which

11:54

killed his assistant but left him unscathed.

11:58

After the invasion of Poland, he was recalled

12:00

to active duty in the British military. He

12:03

was initially appointed as the head of

12:05

the British Yugoslavian military mission in 1940.

12:07

In 1941, while flying from Cairo to Serbia, his

12:12

plane crashed off the coast of

12:14

Italian-controlled Libya. He was

12:16

knocked unconscious, but the cold water revived him.

12:19

He and the rest of the crew had to swim to

12:21

shore, which he did with one

12:23

arm at the age of 60. When

12:26

he and his crew made it to shore, they were

12:28

captured by the Italians. Carton

12:31

de Vierte was considered to be a high-profile

12:33

prisoner and was moved to a special camp

12:35

for officers. While there, he

12:37

befriended several of the other officers and immediately

12:40

sent to work trying to escape. He

12:43

made five different escape attempts.

12:46

In one attempt, they spent seven months working

12:48

on a tunnel. In his

12:50

most successful attempt, he managed to evade

12:52

authorities for eight days. He

12:54

hid in the countryside dressed as

12:56

a peasant and managed to evade

12:58

capture despite knowing no Italian and

13:01

being a 62-year-old one-armed man

13:03

with an eye patch. Finally,

13:06

in 1943, he was summoned to Rome.

13:08

The Italians wanted to make peace overtures to the

13:11

Allies and were going to bring him as a

13:13

good faith gesture to the negotiating site in Lisbon.

13:16

However, the Italians required him to dress as a

13:18

civilian. He said, he

13:21

had no objection, provided he did not

13:23

resemble a gigolo. Once

13:26

he was released to the British in Lisbon,

13:28

he was now finally able to retire in

13:30

peace, right? Nope.

13:33

As soon as he made it to England, he was summoned

13:35

to the home of the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. There,

13:38

Churchill asked Carton de Vierte to

13:40

be his personal representative in China.

13:43

The British relationship with China was difficult

13:45

considering the whole Hong Kong situation, but

13:47

he did a commendable job, especially considering

13:49

that he was kept on even after

13:52

Churchill was elected out of office. Finally,

13:55

in 1947, at the age of 67, Carton

13:58

de Vierte retired. with the rank

14:01

of the three-star lieutenant general. On

14:04

his way home, stopping in Rangoon, he

14:06

slipped on a coconut mat, fracturing several

14:08

of his vertebrae, which, like

14:11

everything else, did not kill him.

14:14

In retirement, he wrote his autobiography

14:16

titled Happy Odyssey, and

14:18

after writing his memoirs, he passed away

14:20

at the age of 83. Adrian

14:24

Carton de Viert, despite receiving

14:26

multiple major injuries, having been

14:28

shot, blown up, and surviving

14:30

two plane crashes, never gave

14:33

up. His life story

14:35

is a testament to the unbreakable spirit

14:37

and endurance through some of the most

14:39

significant and brutal conflicts of the 20th

14:41

century. His legacy is

14:43

one of extraordinary bravery, a

14:45

near-reckless zest for adventure, and an

14:48

indomitable will to survive. In

14:51

fact, with his injuries, plane crashes,

14:53

Victoria Cross, and his high rank

14:55

in the Army, one

14:57

could say that he was

14:59

a one-eyed, one-armed, flying purple

15:02

people leader. The

15:07

executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles

15:09

Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and

15:11

Cameron Kiefer. Today's review

15:13

comes from listener Dorino from Apple Podcasts

15:16

in Canada. They write, "...indispensable

15:18

source of wisdom. One of

15:20

the best podcasts. Frankly, I started listening to

15:22

Everything Everywhere Daily when working in the nightshifts.

15:24

Now I'm addicted to it. Keep up the

15:26

good work, sir. Also, can

15:28

you do a podcast regarding the Tamil language

15:31

and computer viruses? Please and thank you." Well,

15:34

thanks, Dorino. I don't know

15:36

if I know enough about the Tamil language to

15:38

properly do an episode on it, but it could

15:40

certainly appear as part of a larger show about

15:43

the languages of India. As

15:45

for computer viruses, that is definitely

15:47

something that's possible in a future

15:49

episode. Remember, if you leave a review or send me

15:52

a boostogram, you too can have it right on the show.