A Soldier's Promise

August 1914, Northern France.

Captain Robert Campbell, 29, stood near the Mons-Condé Canal, commanding the 1st Battalion East Surrey Regiment. World War I had just begun. Britain had declared war on Germany just weeks earlier. The massive German army was advancing, and Campbell's troops were ordered to hold the line.

But they stood no chance.

The Germans attacked with overwhelming force. Campbell fought valiantly, but was seriously wounded and captured. German soldiers carried him from the field to the hospital, saved his life, and then sent him to a prisoner of war camp in Magdeburg.

Barbed wire, surrounded by soldiers, hundreds of miles from home. Campbell adapted to the harsh routine of captivity: daily roll call, meager meals, and monotonous days. He used lectures, games, and correspondence with fellow officers to maintain morale.

Two years passed. 1914 became 1915, then 1916. 

Then, at the end of 1916, a letter arrived. His mother, Louise Campbell, was suffering from cancer and on her deathbed.

Campbell sat in his cell, reading the letter. His mother was thousands of miles away, and he was in enemy custody. There was no chance of seeing her one last time.

Most prisoners would have accepted this as a cruel reality of war. But Campbell did something else.

He wrote a letter—to the German Emperor, Kaiser Wilhelm II: 

"Your Majesty, my mother is dying. I ask permission to return home to see her one last time. I swear to you on my British officer's name that I will return after that."

It was an incredible request. Amidst the horrors of war, he was simply asking the enemy Emperor for permission to leave.

The Kaiser's reply came a few weeks later: Yes. Campbell would be granted two weeks' compassionate leave, including travel. The only condition was that he would keep his oath. No guards, no chains.

Campbell kept his oath.  Arrangements were made through the American Embassy, ​​and in December 1916, he traveled from Germany to England via the Netherlands.

After two years of captivity, he was suddenly free—on English roads, in the English air, heading home to Gravesend. He spent a week with his mother. Seven days. He held her hand, talked, saw her for the last time.

Then came the most difficult decision of his life. He could have stayed. No one would send him back. But he kept his oath. He put on his uniform and headed back to Germany.

In February 1917, two months later, his mother died. Campbell was in his cell. He kept his oath, returned to captivity, and his mother saw her son standing in honor and integrity.

However, he did not give up his freedom completely. He and other prisoners spent nine months secretly digging tunnels, planning their escape. They almost reached the border of the Netherlands, but were caught and sent back.  Campbell remained a prisoner until the 1918 armistice.

He returned to England after the war. He retired from active service in 1925. He rejoined the army in 1939 during World War II. He eventually lived a quiet life on the Isle of Wight and died in July 1966 at the age of 81.

Captain Robert Campbell's story raises a question: Was he foolish?

He could have stayed in England. No one would have blamed him.

But Campbell understood deeply:

Honor is only real when it is upheld even in difficult times.

Integrity is only real when it is not exercised solely for personal gain.

He kept his oath. To the enemy's emperor. During the most horrific time of the war.

The Kaiser also took risks. But he saw humanity—a son's love for his dying mother transcended war and nationalism.

Two enemies, in the midst of a mechanical war, met in a moment of humanity.

Campbell spent a week with his mother, then voluntarily returned to prison.

Because he had made a promise. And his promise was most important.

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