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Because I love stories like this.
Dec. 9th, 2005 10:41 amIt is a matter of historical record that the liberation of Europe during the Second World War began with D-day on June 6th 1944. What the historical record skips over is that this was not the first invasion of France by allied forces. The first invasion was by the British, alone...and not very many of them at that.
In 1942 Sergeant Peter King was 55. A veteran of the First World War, he was disappointed that he was considered to old for active duty and had been seconded to the army dental corps where he met Private Leslie Cuthbertson. Cuthbertson was 20, but was also deemed unfit for active service due to health problems. The pair of them, unhappy at being passed over to do their bit at sorting out the Nazis, put their heads together and created a plan they called 'Operation Wild Dog'.
So it was that one night in April 1942 the two mailed their warrant cards to Winston Churchill with a note stating they were not deserters and asking that their actions be deemed a 'special mission'. They then took two rifles and a dozen hand grenades from their barracks, stole a fishing boat and set off across the Channel to liberate Europe.
The two spent several days in occupied France, where they succeeded in blowing up railway lines and a listening station before making their way back to England. The only reason they had stopped when they did, they later noted, was because they had run out of ammunition.
Needless to say, the two were court-martialled for desertion. Churchill personally intervened in the case and ensured that they only recieved a reprimand and minor punishment. When told that the two men were lunatics, Churchill allegedly remarked: "God bless the lunatics! You know, without them this war could be really quite serious".
It seems that the incident inspired the men, as in later life Cuthbertson went on to become a successful businessman and Lord Mayor of Newcastle.
I love stories like this. They're so life-affirming.
In 1942 Sergeant Peter King was 55. A veteran of the First World War, he was disappointed that he was considered to old for active duty and had been seconded to the army dental corps where he met Private Leslie Cuthbertson. Cuthbertson was 20, but was also deemed unfit for active service due to health problems. The pair of them, unhappy at being passed over to do their bit at sorting out the Nazis, put their heads together and created a plan they called 'Operation Wild Dog'.
So it was that one night in April 1942 the two mailed their warrant cards to Winston Churchill with a note stating they were not deserters and asking that their actions be deemed a 'special mission'. They then took two rifles and a dozen hand grenades from their barracks, stole a fishing boat and set off across the Channel to liberate Europe.
The two spent several days in occupied France, where they succeeded in blowing up railway lines and a listening station before making their way back to England. The only reason they had stopped when they did, they later noted, was because they had run out of ammunition.
Needless to say, the two were court-martialled for desertion. Churchill personally intervened in the case and ensured that they only recieved a reprimand and minor punishment. When told that the two men were lunatics, Churchill allegedly remarked: "God bless the lunatics! You know, without them this war could be really quite serious".
It seems that the incident inspired the men, as in later life Cuthbertson went on to become a successful businessman and Lord Mayor of Newcastle.
I love stories like this. They're so life-affirming.
