The Soldier Who Stayed Behind

In August of 1914, German forces outnumbered the British Expeditionary Force by 3 to 1. It was the first major engagement the British army would encounter in World War I, and despite overwhelming odds, the British would only lose about 1,600 men, while the Germans would suffer 5,000 casualties. Part of this was for the strategic retreat of the British army, which realized they could not win the battle and stop the German advance into Paris if they held their ground. They withdrew in an organized retreat to avoid both the British and French armies being surrounded, and at one point, they looked like they might not make it.

The British had to withdraw their men on a few key bridges to get across the river from Belgium to northern France. Germans were chasing them voraciously, and hope seemed lost. But at a key bridge crossing at the Mons canal, there was a machine gun posted with two men to defend the position. The first man was wounded early, leaving only Private Sidney Godley to operate it. Godley kept firing, urging his fellow British soldiers to continue retreating across the canal while he shot bullet after bullet to deter the German advance. He fired the machine gun for over 2 hours, even after being wounded himself.

Eventually, Germans closed in on him, but even then, he dismantled the machine gun and threw it into the canal so they couldn’t use it against the Allies. Godley was captured by the German soldiers and was kept as a prisoner of war until the war ended.  When it was all said and done, he traveled to Buckingham Palace and received the Victoria Cross for his bravery – the highest medal one can receive in the British military.

When the smoke cleared at the Mons Canal, the British retreat had succeeded—and much of that success came down to a single stubborn machine gunner who refused to leave his post. Stories like those of Private Sidney Godley are inspiring, ones you could read about for hours. But besides being mostly forgotten tales in history books, they are part of the reason we read history in the first place. Of course, we want to avoid mistakes again – that’s obvious. But history is also about people, and the way people change events and show the best (and worst) parts of our nature.

World War I was a horrific event. Over 8 million people died throughout the conflict, and there is not much to be glorified in it. But one of the interesting reflections is the stories of the men who experienced it day to day. It is not an overstatement to say that what our 18-25 year olds today live through is nothing compared to what the young soldiers experienced in the First World War. Even for those who survived, it was a devastating experience, something that would shape their identity for the rest of their lives.

Many soldiers, especially those in Europe, had been indoctrinated with a romantic view of war for years beforehand. They didn’t yet understand the terror of it and how they might act in dire situations, but Private Godley had the chance to show his true colors. He made a decision to fight when there was nothing left. He fought to the very end, keeping his post when many of his fellow British soldiers had left on a boat to safety. His courage and character shone bright.

Most of us will never face a moment like that bridge at Mons. But all of us will face moments when our character is tested—moments where we must decide whether to stand firm or retreat. What are we building in ourselves now to be prepared for the most desperate moments? We can say we would be heroic, but when the moment calls for it, will we do something? If we are prepared to make a courageous decision, we will likely do it. Spend years of your life in passivity, on the other hand, and we will likely falter when the storms of life come our way. But if we have prepared ourselves to have courage, integrity, and character, then even when everything around us tells us hope is lost, we will stand firm.