Grounded by the 'wicked' matron he hatched a cunning plan to foil his 'captors' and join his comrades in honouring the fallen.
Hiding his medals under his coat, Bernard audaciously said he was 'going for a walk'. No digging a tunnel for months for this intrepid old Royal Navy vet. No disguises. No saving up food rations for weeks. He just walked out the door, down the road, hailed a cab and before anyone knew he was missing, he was happily on board a coach to France.
There he stood proudly amongst world leaders, comrades and others to remember the assault all those years ago that claimed four thousand lives.
Thankyou Bernard. We salute you...
