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In August 1914, the British Expeditionary Force was forced back in the Great Retreat or Retreat from Mons, and for some it was a desperate situation.

In the town of St Quentin where men were unable or unwilling to move, two colonels promised the residents they would surrender rather than fight to save the town from destruction. For their actions they were stripped of rank and dismissed from the army.

Determined to prove himself, one of the colonels joined the French Foreign Legion as a private. He distinguished himself and was badly injured in 1915, but his bravery led to the restoration of his former rank by the king.

Location: Elizabeth College, Grange Road, St Peter Port, Guernsey GY1 2PY
Image shows Lt John Ford Elkington, courtesy of Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museum (Royal Warwickshire)
Presented by Ben Chapple