Lone gunner of Flesquières
Okay kiddo, let me tell you about the Lone Gunner of Flesquières.
It happened during something called World War I, which was a very big fight that happened a long, long time ago. And in this fight, there was a man named Private Henry Tandey. He was from England and he was fighting for his country.
One day, Private Tandey was near a village in France called Flesquières. He was on his own, which means he didn't have anyone else with him. And that's when he saw something really strange. He saw a man walking towards him from the other side. This man was also on his own.
But what was really strange about the man was that he wasn't carrying a gun. In fact, he was carrying something else - a stick! Private Tandey thought this was really weird because everybody in the war had guns. But this man didn't have one.
So Private Tandey decided not to shoot him. He thought that maybe the man was just lost or confused. He would let him go.
Years later, in 1918, when the war was almost over, Private Tandey was in a different part of France. He saw something that made his heart drop. It was a picture of the German leader, Adolf Hitler.
Do you know who Hitler was? He was a very bad man who tried to take over the world. But what really scared Private Tandey was that Hitler was holding something. It was the same stick that the lone man at Flesquières was carrying!
So why was this important? Well, it turns out that Hitler was in that exact same area as Private Tandey on that day many years ago. He might have been the lone man without a gun! And if Private Tandey had shot him, the course of history could have been very, very different.
So that's why people called Private Tandey the Lone Gunner of Flesquières. He made a decision that ended up being very important. And even though he didn't know it then, he might have changed the course of history.
It happened during something called World War I, which was a very big fight that happened a long, long time ago. And in this fight, there was a man named Private Henry Tandey. He was from England and he was fighting for his country.
One day, Private Tandey was near a village in France called Flesquières. He was on his own, which means he didn't have anyone else with him. And that's when he saw something really strange. He saw a man walking towards him from the other side. This man was also on his own.
But what was really strange about the man was that he wasn't carrying a gun. In fact, he was carrying something else - a stick! Private Tandey thought this was really weird because everybody in the war had guns. But this man didn't have one.
So Private Tandey decided not to shoot him. He thought that maybe the man was just lost or confused. He would let him go.
Years later, in 1918, when the war was almost over, Private Tandey was in a different part of France. He saw something that made his heart drop. It was a picture of the German leader, Adolf Hitler.
Do you know who Hitler was? He was a very bad man who tried to take over the world. But what really scared Private Tandey was that Hitler was holding something. It was the same stick that the lone man at Flesquières was carrying!
So why was this important? Well, it turns out that Hitler was in that exact same area as Private Tandey on that day many years ago. He might have been the lone man without a gun! And if Private Tandey had shot him, the course of history could have been very, very different.
So that's why people called Private Tandey the Lone Gunner of Flesquières. He made a decision that ended up being very important. And even though he didn't know it then, he might have changed the course of history.