‘You’ve nearly always got a weapon: an ash-tray, a couple of coins, a fountain pen – anything that will gouge or cut.’ It was the favourite dictum of the mild little Welsh sergeant at that house near Oxford in the war; ‘Never use both hands at once, not with a knife, a stick or a pistol; keep your left arm free, and hold it across the belly. If you can’t find anything to hit with, keep the hands open and the thumbs stiff.’
