Escaped from Foreign Legion

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 18004, 26 April 1930, Page 14 (Supplement)

Escaped from Foreign Legion

Amazing experiences undergone while wandering in ihe North African desert with a price on his head were described by Mr Clarence Maxey 32. on returning to his home at Rustlingsroad, Nether Green, Sheffield, after escaping from the French Foreign Legion. Maxey is an ex-Coldstream Guardsman with three decorations for service in the Great War. One of his colleagues in the Legion was Joe Mellor, who was invaldid home to Sheffield, and soon afterwards was discovered with his throat cut. “I would not go back to the Legion to serve another thre,e years if I were paid a million pounds. It was absolutely terrible, and I hardly know which was the worst, serving with the Legion or the hardships during my escape,” declared Maxey. Describing how he deserted on the Moroccan frontier, Maxey stated: “Not only had we to fight the enemy', but our officers were terrible, and it was their bullying that finally forced me to

put my plan into action. I saw a German soldier, aged about 21, hogged every day in his cell for three or four days. Then he became strangely quiet. I wondered why', till I saw them bring a stretcher and take his body away. T\vo men hanged themselves together on a tree, and

EX-GUARDSMAN’S ORDEAL IN THE DESERT. MONTH’S TRAMP WITH PRICE ON HIS HEAD.

stabbings and sudden deaths were the 1 routine. I well remember my regiment being addressed bv a French general with the words, ‘Brave Legionnaires, you were made for death. I am going to send you somewhere where you will be killed.’ He was sincere—in fact, in deadly earnest. But we commented on it as discouraging. I and a German Legionnaire stole from our bivouacs during the night. I took with me a revolver and 12 rounds of ammunition, together with a water bottle full of wine, bread, and seven pounds of figs. My companion insisted on taking his riile and bayonet, although I told him il was foolhardy', and he. when Legionnaires followed us on horseback. We were running hard, but the German turned round and fired at our pursuers. I think he wounded one of them, but Immediately three or four shots rang out, and the German fell. The Legionnaires are crack shots

and seldom miss. After that I ran and ran and ran, /seemingly for days. I stopped only at night to sleep, either on the desert or In the barren mountainous country that lay' between me and, I hoped, safety. It took me the next 29 days to cover 300 miles to Oran. When the figs gave out I lived on berries, but for one period—it must have been over a week—l had practically no food at all, and was about exhausted, but managed to struggle on. One day an Arab made an attempt to capture me, and one of his dogs lore my trousers, but I fired at the man and wounded him in the shoulder, broke his rifle, and told him to go oi> I would shoot him. I was still in uniform when I reached Oran, •but managed to find a man who was prepared to sell me a suit of sorts.“ln that I went to the British Consul and, without saying what I was, obtained leave to work my passage homeward on a ship.’.