As one person commented in an online forum just after his death: “RIP, am doubly glad he escaped and got to go to the anniversary… carpe diem.” Bernard Jordan waves as he returns to Portsmouth on a Brittany Ferry Not just any old sayingĬarpe diem – seize the day – is one of the most powerful philosophical ideals to have emerged in Western history. People also admired his courage to seize a window of opportunity. Why did Bernard’s adventure capture so much public attention? It was not just nostalgia for the wartime spirit or his venerable age. But Bernard was never able to take up that offer: six months later, he died.
#Carpe diem seize the day free#
The ferry company even offered him free travel to Normandy for the rest of his life. The story of Bernard’s great escape took the British media by storm, knocking the sober anniversary speeches by world leaders off the front pages.
“I expect I will be in some trouble with the care home, but it was worth it.” “I loved every minute of it and would do it again tomorrow – it was such an exciting experience,” he said on his return. Bernard was already across the Channel, surrounded by marching bands and dancing girls. Once there, he boarded the ferry to France and joined a party of war veterans who took him under their wing.Īs soon as the care staff realised he was missing, a frantic police search began. Now free, he tottered down to the railway station nearly a mile away, and took the train to Portsmouth. He got up early and put on his best suit, making sure to pin on his wartime medals, then covered his outfit with a grey raincoat and sneaked out of the home. What could he do?īernard came up with a cunning plan. But there was a problem: he was trapped in a care home in Hove, without permission to travel. The former British naval officer was determined to go to Normandy to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings with other veterans. On a summer’s morning in 2014, 89-year-old Bernard Jordan decided to escape. But Roman Krznaric wonders if we’re getting the message Now it’s used to sell trainers, T-shirts and a carefree lifestyle (#YOLO). Carpe diem, meaning ‘seize the day,’ is one of the most powerful philosophical ideals.
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