I was recently relating the story of Sgt John Redwood,John was my platoon sergeant a pre war soldier and a great character,On the day that John lost his thumb needs a little explaining,John when on patrol often used his No5 Lee Enfield as a a walking aid.On the day of his accident we where on a 5 man patrol lead by John,when a gunshot rang out,first thought was contact with a terrorist/s.it was then noted that John was sat on the ground nursing a bloodied hand,I bandaged his hand and at the same time i told him it was a silly idea to use his fully charged rifle as a walking aid,typical of John was his reply"shut up or you'll get a bunch of fours"John never returned to the platoon,he was later discharged and I believe that later he emigrated to NZ and joined the RNZAF and earned a commision.A great platoon sergeant and character.
