in the annals of History, Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart was a soldier unlike any other— a war hero who defied the odds time and time again. Over six decades and three major wars, he endured wounds that would have ended most men' s military careers, yet he continued to fight with unmatched resilience and courage. His extraordinary story, filled with near- miraculous survival, unwavering bravery, and an unbreakable spirit, reads like something out of an adventure novel.

Born into an aristocratic family in Brussels on May 5, 1880, Carton de Wiart was sent to boarding school in England and later attended Oxford to study law. However, a conventional career did not interest him. Instead, he sought the thrill of battle, abandoning his studies in 1899 to fight in the Second Boer War. As he was underage and lacked his father' s consent, he enlisted under a false name and claimed to be 25. His first experience in combat was brutal— he was shot twice, in the stomach and groin, and had to return to England to recover.

Undeterred, he continued his military career, and by the outbreak of World War I, he was serving with the British Army in Africa. During an attack in Somaliland, he was shot in the face, losing his left eye and part of his ear. Later, while fighting on the Western Front, he suffered even more severe injuries. During the Second Battle of Ypres, his left hand was shattered. When a doctor hesitated to amputate two of his fingers, Carton de Wiart took matters into his own hands— literally— by tearing them off himself. His entire hand was later amputated. Despite these wounds, he returned to the battlefield, now an iconic figure with an eye patch and an empty sleeve.