Adrian Carton de Wiart - World War I

World War I

When the First World War broke out, De Wiart was en route to British Somaliland where a low level war was underway against the followers of Mohammed bin Abdullah, called the "Mad Mullah" by the British. De Wiart had been seconded to the Somaliland Camel Corps. A staff officer with the corps was Hastings Ismay, later Lord Ismay, Churchill's military advisor.

In an attack upon an enemy fort at Shimber Berris, De Wiart was shot twice in the face, losing his eye and also the portion of his ear. He was awarded the DSO in May 1915.

In February 1915, he embarked on a steamer for France. De Wiart took part in the fighting on the Western Front, commanding successively three infantry battalions and a brigade. He was wounded seven more times in the war, losing his left hand in 1915 and pulling off his fingers when a doctor declined to remove them. He was shot through the skull and ankle at the Battle of the Somme, through the hip at the Battle of Passchendaele, through the leg at Cambrai, and through the ear at Arras. He went to the Sir Douglas Shield's Nursing Home to recover from his injuries.

De Wiart was promoted to temporary major in March 1916, from 15 February to 25 March. He subsequently attained the rank of temporary lieutenant-colonel, and was promoted to brevet major in January 1917. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the Crown of Belgium in early 1917. In June, now a temporary brigadier-general, De Wiart was promoted to brevet lieutenant-colonel. In July, he was promoted to the permanent rank of major in the Dragoon Guards.

He was awarded the Belgian Croix de Guerre in March 1918, and was appointed a CMG in the King's Birthday Honours List in June. Just prior to the end of the war, on 8 November, De Wiart was given command of a brigade with the rank of temporary brigadier-general.