Hard Facts About Adrian Carton de Wiart, Britain’s Indestructible Soldier
Adrian Carton de Wiart was the one-eyed, one-handed British Army officer whose battlefield heroics defied belief—and the odds.
1. He Was Indestructible
Adrian Carton de Wiart earned the moniker “the unkillable soldier”. And, given his record, it’s easy to see why. Carton de Wiart survived shots to the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip and ear. Not to mention, a couple of plane crashes, a harrowing escape from a POW camp and a self-inflicted amputation (sans anesthesia). And that’s just the short version.
2. He Might Have Been A Prince
Born in Brussels on May 5, 1880, Adrian Carton de Wiart was the eldest son of Léon Constant Ghislain Carton de Wiart, a prominent lawyer and magistrate, and Ernestine Wenzig. Or was he? Even before he was born, there was speculation that Carton de Wiart was, in fact, the illegitimate child of King Leopold II of the Belgians.
That might help explain what happened next.
3. His Mother Abandoned Him
Carton de Wiart’s mother curiously fell out of the picture in 1886. Historians originally speculated that she had passed away, but later discovered that his parents had gotten a rather sudden divorce.
Shortly thereafter, Carton de Wiart moved to Cairo, Egypt with his father where he learned to speak Arabic.
As it turns out, he had big ideas for Carton de Wiart’s future—but they didn’t quite turn out as planned.
4. He Was Going To Be A Lawyer
Carton de Wiart’s father remarried to an Englishwoman who insisted that the little boy receive a proper British education. Without a second thought, she shipped him off to boarding school in England.
Eventually, Carton de Wiart found himself at Balliol College, Oxford, following in his father’s footsteps and preparing for a career in law.
But adventure was calling his name.
