THE BATTLE OF FRANCE
'You needn't change. . . /
Which, considering that all I possessed in the
world was a uniform, made me smile despite my
troubles.
I had another significant story from a naval
officer. His destroyer had sunk a German ship off
the Norwegian coast and taken its captain aboard.
The German was a devout Catholic and, as it seemed
to the British officers, a man worthy of respect.
They treated him very well indeed. Then, as the
Commander of the destroyer was spending the night
on the bridge, he offered his cabin, the best on the
ship, to the German. But down below the German
stopped short on the threshold of the cabin and
backed away:
'No/ he said, 'this is a trap of some sort/
'Why?'
'Because it's quite impossible that you'd be giving
your Commander's cabin to a prisoner/
'But why? You're our guest/
And then, convinced they were in earnest, he
stood and looked at them for a long time in silence.
Then his eyes filled with tears and he said:
'Ah, you poor lads! You've no idea what you're
fighting against/
There are some who decry these traits. It is just
those traits which make England so dear to me.
Like every other nation, she has her faults. The
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