7 JANUARY 1955, Page 19

'JUNGLE HERO BANNED FROM BRITAIN,' said the headline in the

Daily Express. I read on, interest quickening and indignation on the leash, and learnt that the man concerned was a German who had joined the Foreign Legion. He had been captured at Dien Bien Phu, had been released and had deserted. For a soldier, whether mercenary or otherwise, to be captured is a misfortune if not a disgrace; to be released is a slice of luck which he has done nothing to deserve; and to desert is a grave offence. The German may be as brave as a lion; but I do not see how, on the evidence adduced, he has earned even the dubious privilege of being culled a hero by the Beaverbrook Press. STRIX